Love Paradox
by treeshie
Summary: She ditched her past, her past's present, & her past's future. With that, she embraced the life of a normal teenager attending private school. But as her new life starts to tie knots with THEIR's, her past eventually returns to haunt them all. SAKUCENTRIC
1. ONE: Flashy Entrances

**.:LOVE PARADOX:.**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Naruto characters, no matter how rich I get. Damnit I'm poor.

* * *

**FLASHY ENTRANCES ((CHAPTER ONE))**

* * *

_I can only hope this was the right choice, _thought the tired-looking blonde woman at her desk. She kneaded the space between her eyebrows, hoping to relieve the pounding headache she felt coming on.

"Here, have some sake, Tsunade-sama," soothed a gentle voice to her right. Tsunade groaned in relief, hand reaching out to grope the air blindly until a sake bottle was safe within her grasp. She hurriedly took a swig without even pouring it out and slammed the bottle back down.

"Thanks, Shizune," she croaked in a grateful tone. "I really don't know what I'd do without you…"

Shizune let out an exasperated sigh, one hand holding TonTon while the other perched on her hip in a mock-anger position.

"Tsunade-sama, without me you would not be where you are right now!"

"Which is why I'm grateful, alright?" Tsunade waved her off, already getting slightly tipsy from the great gulps of Sake she was taking in. On the corner of her desk, peeking out from piles and piles of nothing but paper, lay her beaten-up name-tag – "President".

Shizune decided to forgive her just this once, knowing that Tsunade needed to get drunk tonight. _Oh Tsunade-sama…you need to believe you made the right decision. She will be fine…_

"SHIZUNE!" Tsunade roared, startling her out of her thoughts. "MORE SAKE!!"

"Yes! But only **one** more bottle, okay?" she chided. As the Chance Orphan Co.'s President's private secretary, Shizune still held partial control. After all, without her, Tsunade would be gambling her life away and not working at all.

"JUST GET ME MY…uhh…SAKE, yeah, sakeee…" she mumbled, head lolling on her desk and scattering more papers in the process.

Inside her mind, Tsunade wasn't drunk at all. She was still worrying over whether she did the right thing or not. Should she have sent her there? All by herself?

"Tsunade-sama, I think you made the right decision…" Shizune called from the backroom. She shuffled back with a serene expression and another bottle of sake.

"Sakura can take care of herself just fine, you know that," she continued. "And you cannot keep her forever, no matter how much you wish she was your own daughter…"

Tsunade mumbled something unintelligible. Shizune, somehow, made sense of it, and pulled a sad face on.

"You cannot adopt her, Tsunade-sama…" she said gently.

"Mmm…I know, Shizuneeee…" Tsunade buried her head in her hands, not even taking the sake bottle from her secretary's outstretched hands. No matter how much she begged for it, she wasn't allowed any children anymore – adopted or not. _Oh, Sakura…please don't hate me…_

A moment of silence filled in between them, until a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the bottle.

_Sakura will be fine, so please cheer up, Tsunade-sama…_ Shizune whispered to herself.

* * *

"We're here," the cab driver said. She looked back, only to find her passenger sound asleep.

"Oh my…dear, wake up please – we're at the school now," she called, moving back a wrinkled hand to gently shake the teenage girl lightly.

"Nng…?" yawned her passenger, blearily opening her eyes before shutting them tight at the blinding light.

"Come on, sweetie…or else you're going to miss your first day of school, and that wouldn't be good," the kind old lady chuckled. The girl finally blinked her eyes open and realized what she was just told. She grabbed the edge of her mask, which was connected to her black turtleneck, and slipped it back up.

'Thank you very much for driving me here, Obaa-san, I'm really grateful…and what time is it?" She answered her own question by looking at the clock in the car quickly.

"OH MY GOD IT'S FFF…FIVE FORTY?!" she screamed, hurriedly opening the door and grabbing her big sports bag. Then, remembering something, she turned around and bowed respectfully to the cab driver.

"Thank you! Um…the money for the trip?" she laughed hesitantly.

"Don't worry about it, young one, I haven't seen someone so kind like you in a while. Your mother, I believe…? She paid me beforehand, so it's all settled," the driver said, giving a kind smile. She didn't catch the falter in the girl's smile at the mention of "mother".

"Oh, well than…um…thank you for waking me! I have to go now, so…uh…have a nice day!" she finished lamely, cursing her idiocy inside. _What kind of stupid farewell was that?!_

"Have fun in school!" the old lady called back, watching as the pink-haired teen rushed inside the huge school gates. On the side, a brass nameplate said "International Institute of Learning". In smaller words beneath that inscription, was "High School, Divisions A-C" in slightly less bolded font.

Absentmindedly, the old lady turned to look at her clock. And then she realized something important.

_I hope the girl realized my clock is late by around an hour, _she sighed. _That means it's already 7 something…oh dear._

* * *

"Fuck, I'm going to be late on the first day, I have no fucking idea where my dorm is either, and FUCK I still have to go to the Main Office to get my registration finalized!" Sakura mumbled to herself, looking around with no sense of direction whatsoever. She didn't see anybody around.

_That's weird…there should be at least some kids hanging out or something, _she furrowed her brows. The entrance yard was completely blank of human life…until she saw someone stepping out of the nearest building. Sakura sighed in relief, hurrying over to the said person.

"Hey!" The person turned around, looking at her blankly. An unruly mop of silver hair was piled onto his head, and he was wearing a mask – just like her's, which startled her considerably. Once she caught up to him, she realized he was…really tall. Almost two heads taller than her. Probably a senior or a teacher…or not, he didn't look like teacher material.

"What's a student still doing out here," he said, giving her a nonchalant tone. Sakura sensed the suspiciousness beneath it though, and the fact he was slightly amused at seeing she was wearing a pretty identical mask to his. _So he's not a student, then._

"First period doesn't start until 6:20, right?" she asked back, confused. "I just got here, so I'm a little late, but I should have enough time to unpack and…"

The man held up a hand, stopping her tirade and…giggling. _Do men giggle?_ She just stared.

"Here, here…" he said gently, taking her by the shoulders and spinning her to face a huge clock near the doors of the building he'd just came from. "Take a look at the time, little lady."

For a second, Sakura thought she was seeing things. And then she looked closer, blinking repeatedly.

_It says…7:15…FUCK IT SAYS 7:15……….._

"Oh, fff—I mean, ugh…" she moaned, dragging her hands over her face. "I thought it was 5:50 …"

"Well, it's alright, you're not the only one late," the man behind her laughed. He held out a hand for her to shake, which she took gladly.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, a teacher here at I.I.L High. Division A, of course" he said simply, other hand scratching the back of his head. A headband curiously covered his left eye, so whenever he smiled, all Sakura saw was the crinkling of his right eye.

"Oh, I'm in Division A, I think," she said back, trying to hold back her urge to beam a ridiculous smile at him. Probably because they seemed kind of alike…in the mask sense, of course. Sakura liked to wear her mask – it allowed her to express many feelings without people realizing so, and it gave her a sense of security. She preferred to keep to herself, even though her outward personality acted cheerful to some.

Kakashi blinked. This was his new student? _Nice mask, hehe._

"Well…I think I'm your teacher then. You're…Sakura, right?" he guessed. She nodded. He paid no attention to the fact her long hair was pink-colored, nor the fact her eyes were an impossible shade of jade. After all, he wasn't normal himself either, right?

"Aa." She wasn't paying much attention to him either, instead opting to shift her gaze around the entire school entrance courtyard. Her face wasn't smiling anymore – it'd settled into an emotionless gaze just as quickly as he had seen her seem grateful.

_Great, just what I need. Another student with serious issues… _he groaned inside.

"Well, you need to get to your dorm first, so follow me and I'll lead you to the front office."

"Hn."

_I'm getting an uneasy feeling about this girl…_ he sweatdropped. _She's got my mask, and she's talking the __**Uchiha**__ talk. Not to mention mood swings…And no last name. The __**Uchiha **__talk?! Damnit…_

"Why aren't you in the classroom if class started already?" Sakura asked, her voice tone monotonous.

"Eh…you'll figure it out eventually," he said vaguely, waving his hand randomly and using the other to pull a bright orange book out from a bag strapped to his thigh. Sakura looked closely at the book cover…

_Icha Icha Paradise?! _She was appalled. _That's those disgusting pervert books that Ero-sennin writes…_

"That's written by Jiraiya, isn't it?"

_Oof. _Kakashi had stopped in the middle of walking down one of the hallways, standing stock still. And then he turned, ever so slowly, to face Sakura, with a downright appraising look on his face.

"You know **Jiraiya**?!" he asked, his one eye glowing with hearts. She backed up one step, wary of his weird behavior.

"Uh…yea. I used to see him like three times a month." The stupid Ero-sennin would come by to visit Tsunade all the time, in vain attempts to try to catch her and Sakura, or even Shizune, naked. Perverts.

"Sakura," Kakashi pronounced dramatically, pulling her into an abrupt hug (Where she cringed, disliking human contact a bit), "You are officially my favorite student from now on!"

She wiggled in his grip, growing more uncomfortable every second.

"Can you let go, please?" In the last few words, the pitch of her voice rose an octave in nervousness.

He seemed to understand something was off, so he promptly let her go. He was about to remark on her mask as well, before Kakashi was suddenly weirdly tackled down by a flying ball of orange, black, and yellow. Sakura just stared, not in the least shocked or surprised, as if this happened to her daily.

_This happens all the time with that kid Ero-sennin brings around sometimes. Never saw him that much, though…_

And as the ball of bright colors started ranting at Kakashi and standing up, she looked closer to realize he **was** that same exact kid. _What a coincidence_, she thought sarcastically. _I'm going to kill Tsunade later…_

"Naruto, what are you doing…" Sakura closed her eyes tightly, wishing she could just get to the Main Office already. He clambered off Kakashi and stopped ranting once he heard her voice.

"**S-s-sakura**?!" he yelled incredulously, deep-blue eyes wide. She rolled her eyes and moved forward to smooth his shirt down a bit, which didn't do much. He was wearing their school's uniform – incorrectly, of course, but wearing it nonetheless.

For men, it consisted of a black long-sleeved dress shirt, standard black slacks with a belt of your choice, a tie of any color, and black shoes – dress shoes or the optional flip-flops, which she saw Naruto wearing now. There was also the outer jacket – also black in color – which had a mini pocket near the left-breast with their school's symbol on it.

_He's not wearing any of it properly, _Sakura noticed. Naruto's shirt was wrinkled messily, and the top three buttons were unbuttoned without even being tucked into his pants. The orange tie was hanging loosely in his hand having ripped it off to try to strangle Kakashi with it. The jacket was nowhere to been.

"Yes, it's me, now can someone bring me to the Main Office?" she asked with a patient tone, completely contrasting her real thoughts.

"Of course, Sakura-chan! Anything for you!" Naruto yelled out his cheerful laughter, to which Sakura cringed, and then proceeded to take her hand within his and drag them together to the main office. Behind them, Kakashi was lying on the floor, swirls in his eyes – completely forgotten. Poor Kakashi.

Thanks to the super-speed running of Naruto and his endless hyperness, they arrived in no time in front of two big, glass doors. Sakura could faintly make out many people working at desks through the fuzzy glass, and turned around to tell Naruto thanks, and that he should go back to class now, but that never happened.

Instead, she was dragged once again right into the office, causing everyone to stare at them.

"I'm AMAZING, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto roared happily. _Oh my god, we're dead… _Sakura moaned.

"Oh shut up, Naruto, and go back to class you IDIOT," yelled an equally familiar tone from some room in the back of the office. Sakura paled.

_Oh no. Oh nonononononono. NO. __**Please**__ don't tell me that's who I think it is…_

Unfortunately, it was. From that very room, Jiraiya looked out with an annoyed face, before catching sight of Sakura.

"Naruto, you genius! Good job getting Sakura here; now give her to me and GET BACK TO CLASS."

Naruto let out a small 'eep', muttered under his breath about 'stupid Ero-sennin' or something, and then smiled at Sakura giddily.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan! Make sure you get in my class, okay? I'll wait for you, believe it!" he yelled, and then left as fast as he had come. Skipping. _He still has to yell everything he says…ugh._

Sakura received pitying and curious looks from the office workers, and she just shook her head sadly before trudging to where the Ero-sennin waited.

"Oh come on, cheer up, little Blossom," he crowed, eyes already growing to a playfully lecherous state. Which received him a throbbing bump on his head…courtesy of Sakura's clenched fist.

"Shut up and give me my schedule, Ero-sennin," she scowled. _I think I artificially inherited Tsunade's bad luck from some horrible twist of fate. Fuck._

"I could punish you now though, heeheehee… I can do whatever I want as Principal here!" Sakura paled.

"So, that being said…" He rummaged through the mess on his desk (it reminded her oddly of Tsunade's) to pick up a plastic-wrapped package. Tossing it at her rather aimlessly, he went back to shuffling through the mess again.

"That's your uniform, there's three sets in there…" He tossed her a folder this time. "And that's your schedule, and any other stuff you need to know will probably be in there. If not, just ask somebody…"

"What about my dorm room?" She asked. This was something she had to make sure was alright and acceptable, because knowing the damned Ero-sennin, she was scared she might end up with…a senior pervert. Sakura visibly shuddered at the thought of it.

_I could always have Tsunade beat him for doing that and then change it quickly…Hnn. Nice idea. I kinda like that. _She inwardly giggled maniacally. Living with Tsunade meant taking immense pleasure in beating Jiraiya up, no matter when, why, or how.

This time, Jiraiya pivoted slowly on the spot to face her, his face forming a scarily happy expression.

"Oh, I made **sure** you had the best living requirements…" he cackled, leaving Sakura really freaked out.

_Shit. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Oh my FUCKING god, I'm going to get RAPED. I'm GOING TO DIE._

"So, here are your keys," and he tossed the goddamned little silver and plastic things at her, "and one of them is a card to get into your main Dorm building. The keys are for your dorm room, and then your own room, and some other random stuff like drawers and blah."

"What about…my roomate?"

He gave that scary look again, eyes glowing in sadistic mirth.

"Don't you mean **roommates**? Oh, I'm positively **sure** you guys will love each other…"

And without another word, he tossed her a map of the campus and promptly shoved her all the way out of the building.

* * *

_Ok, just remember, Sakura…you only have to remain calm, collected, and cool. Just the three C's. God, that sounds lame… _Sakura slapped her head, cringing. _So not helping. Alright, you're going to get through with this by yourself, and prove your own worth… and you're NOT going to fall in love, no matter what, alright?_

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, letting all emotions run past her mind.

_Hn._

Cold, emotionless Sakura was now in place.

Not hesitating one bit, she picked up her tattered sports bag and swiped the flimsy white card against the reader. The dorm was a pretty small townhouse-like building – only fit a couple kids, she figured.

"PASS! PLEASE PROCEED," it beeped. She barely even glanced at it, just sweeping by smoothly. Sakura was now a goddess – her face was rigidly free of any emotion, giving nothing away – only an ice-like aura of calculating beauty and intelligence floated around her.

_This is the only way I'll be able to handle everything, _she thought sadly.

Sakura didn't want to make any close friends.

She trudged in, kicking off her boots at the entrance. Looking around, the entrance hall was a pretty small, enclosed hallway. The walls were a pleasant shade of black she found comforting, and led to a direct turn left. Once walking inside, a rough welcome mat would be right underneath you – to the right were shelves containing various shoes.

_Impeccably organized, _she noted. _A girl did that? Maybe. But the other shoes all look to be men's…and there's the same flip-flops Naruto was wearing._

Praying she wouldn't be the only girl there, she decided to respect whoever organized it all and neatly lined up her black ankle-high boots next to the rack.

_Good thing they were those rock-climbing kinds, _she absentmindedly thought, referring to how painstakingly huge the school campus was.

Figuring no one would be home (she had to get used to saying that) since they would be in class, Sakura didn't bother quieting her footsteps and just followed the winding hallway.

At the end, it widened into a huge living room. The décor of it all seemed too…manly, for her tastes, but she supposed she could change that later. It was comfy enough, with lots of cushions and beanbag chairs. A huge widescreen TV was built into the wall farthest from her, since the backs of the sofas were facing her. She noticed random game systems spread out on the floor in front of it.

_Good. At least someone has a source of entertainment for me to hijack._

The living room led to the kitchen, which was blaringly white and almost blinded her on sight. It reminded Sakura of the cleanliness of hospitals, where she often helped Tsunade, and the clean lemon smell floating around didn't exactly help in visualizing who lived here.

_The décor seems real manly, but it's unexplainably neat. Oh my god, what is it's a GAY MAN?!_

Sakura's eyes flickered a bit, showing her obvious discomfort yet trying not to betray her outer facial features.

She looked around the first floor completely. In the back of the kitchen was the dining room – a really big dining room. The other side of the kitchen led to another hallway that connected with the entrance hall. If you started from the entrance hall and walked all the way forwards, the stairs would be right there. To the right would be another lounge room – this one filled with books and a big desk, like a study room. There was a door in the back of the study room – Sakura opened it to find it was a bedroom.

She didn't notice the little white Cherry Blossom flower imprinted onto the front of the black door. Instead, she realized the room looked empty – save for a bed, desk, and some clothes drawers and closets. A door near her left opened up to a small bathroom.

So figuring no one lived in this room, she dumped her bag onto the white bed non-too-gently.

_I guess I'll just take this one. Easy enough._

Sighing, she figured taking a look around upstairs anyway. There wasn't much – only three other bedrooms, which she couldn't open because of them being locked up. Not like she would go snooping in other people's belongings, of course, but she did want to know who lived here…and if there were any females other than her.

Sakura didn't spot any bathrooms, so she deemed it safe to think they each had their own little one just like her room.

Upon walking back to said room, she finally noticed the little Cherry Blossom, and gave a little smirk.

_Jiraiya is getting uncreative, I'll say…_

Her wristwatch said it was now 8:16. She'd already missed first period, so second period…ended at 8:30, she saw, flipping through the folder Jiraiya gave her.

Inside was information on her schedule – which she found kind of exasperating – and the rules by which the school abided by. It was nothing much different from the usual, except that students in lower divisions would call students in higher divisions by "sempai", regardless of age.

The paper decreed her as a special student of Division A, having gotten in through hard testing and a full scholarship. Because otherwise, Sakura would've never been able to have a remote chance of getting any good education at all.

_Man, being an orphan kind of sucks…_

With the silence of her new room, and lying on the bed just thinking calmly, Sakura only heard the soft ticking of her wristwatch next to her ear.

Slowly, she started to feel her eyes getting drowsy and her mind disobeying the warning that she was missing the first day of school. She didn't even have the strength to pull her mask down.

_I hope this will be the place…where I…will…be able…to…open…up…_

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

_**A/N – **07.25.08 (treeshie)_

_I ALWAYS WRITE ON BIRTHDAYS. Today just happens to be my best-friend's birthday. **Happy Birthday, Luvvie! **Dedicated to you especially._

_Alright, I'm currently considering shooting myself for writing a modern high school fic on Naruto. I'm slightly scared of myself, so yeah… The problem is I don't have a gun, which makes everything harder. Oh dear._

_I hope you guys thought it was okay. Read and review, please? I never get how some people can get five million reviews after the first chapter (exaggeration), so I'm putting it down that either my stories really are just as sucky as my brother makes them out to be, or…I'm just downright unlucky. Unless there's a trick to getting reviews._

_Oh well. Please read and review like I said earlier, and I sincerely hope you liked it. Feel free to criticize me all you want – I'm weird. I like criticisms. Thanks for reading -- (IF I GET ONE REVIEW, I'LL JUMP FOR JOY…)_


	2. TWO: Division A's Requirements

DISCLAIMER: All Naruto-affiliated things aren't owned by me BECAUSE I DON'T OWN THEM. GRAWR.

_If things get a little confusing, sorry. Just point it out and I'll try to elaborate later._

* * *

**DIVISION A'S REQUIREMENTS :CHAPTER TWO:**

* * *

Hyuuga Neji was about ready to blow his head up, just for the sake of making his damned fangirls stop stalking him. Unfortunately, that would be the death of him – so he decided against it.

Yet the problem of those giggling slabs of – never mind, they were all anorexic looking – those giggling sheets of talking, walking, horrid-looking paper things wasn't going to be solved anytime soon at this rate. And if he **ever** solved it, Neji figured he'd be dead first.

So here he was, trudging across campus back to the dorm, and praying to the Gods that at least maybe he could get home without any of them approaching him.

_Shit. _To make this clear, a Hyuuga never curses unless under severe circumstances.

Out of the corner of his white eyes, he caught a slight shift in the monstrous crowd of buzzing bees that they were…

_Oh no. No. That is not going to happen._

A group of about five or six were taking dainty little steps towards him.

Neji took immediate reaction.

With a grunt, he hurriedly shifted his Adidas sports bag to a comfortable position hanging over his back, and then sprinted off at top speed.

He barely heard the whines behind him, and chose to purposefully ignore the sighs and murmurs of "What a man…", and gay things like "Ohhh, Neeeeji-kunnn…".

_At least I am not an Uchiha…_

* * *

"Ohhh, Sasuuuu-kunnn…" called a most whiny voice that was probably intended to sound seductive. Instead, it came out as a rather…disturbing trill; it reminded him oddly of banshees.

"Fuck." That's all he said. And without another word, he grabbed his bag and took off.

Seems Uchiha Sasuke was having about as good a time as Neji was.

So with unison thoughts, they both were screaming one thing…

_FUCK. FANGIRLS. I'M GOING TO DIE._

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain black-haired man was hanging out on the school roof, doing nothing but idly lying there and watching as the red and purple clouds went by.

"Ah…not fair…" he mumbled to himself, eyes giving off a lazy impression. "I wanna be a cloud …"

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, his eyes shot back open and he sat up quickly.

_I forgot…I'm supposed to show that new kid around._

He raised a hand slowly to scratch the back of his head, right below his spiky ponytail. The rays of light from sunset glinted off his diamond stud earrings as he yawned and sighed.

Shikamaru shuffled to his feet, stuck his gloved hands in his pockets, took one last look at the clouds, and then promptly jumped off the roof.

Which also prompted several girly screams and lovey-dovey sighs from some weird corner of the roof.

Not that Shikamaru even heard it. Having jumped off, he'd reached forward and grabbed the window ledge between the first and second floor, and then swung to the ground smoothly.

His line of thinking for doing this went something along the lines of "That stairs are too troublesome."

He didn't mention the fact that fangirls were always waiting by the stairs.

So, with a slow pace – unlike Sasuke and Neji, who were running for their lives – Shikamaru tiredly started walking.

_Wait…where is the new kid anyway?_

He blinked. _Well, shit._

A couple minutes later, and a few more yawns, Shikamaru decided to just go back and get his stuff unpacked.

_Maybe he won't come 'til tomorrow. Didn't see him today…_

Getting to the dorm from the Division A's building took only a few minutes, so it was this way that he unwittingly got back before Sasuke or Neji – who were both** still **sprinting for their lives.

* * *

On the other hand, Naruto was busy scratching his head and wondering why Sakura was even here in the first place. It only just occurred to him…that their school division, Division A…had a rule.

_Did Ero-sennin put her in our class on purpose?_

Because at the end of the day, Naruto finally remembered an important piece of information:

Division A was for the special students – for the special **male** students.

* * *

Having reached their new home first, Shikamaru stumbled in yawning and sighing. He shifted his shoes off, too lazy to use his hands, and threw them onto the rack.

And then, for the second time today, something made his eyes snap open. Next to the rack was a pair of mountain-climbing boots. He was sure they hadn't been there in the morning, because the last one to leave the house had been him. (He'd left exactly at 6:20 and wasn't even scolded for being late – their teacher had been even later.)

It was plausible if Neji or Sasuke came back and unpacked more of their shoes or something (though he thought Neji had already forced them all to unpack the whole shoe collection so he could organize it), but that thought was slightly disturbing.

There was no way, and he bent down to check, that any of them could wear size 5 shoes. Upon close inspection, there was absolutely no **fucking** way that any of them could wear size 5 **women's** shoes.

And Shikamaru was the only one home. They'd all registered with the outside reader – if Neji or Sasuke were home, there names would have appeared in the "INSIDE" list rather than on the "OUTSIDE" list.

It was this that caused him to take cautious, silent footsteps down the hallway. He supposed whoever came in had already heard his slamming of the door, but it was never a bad thing to act on the safe side.

Eyes alert, and fingers gently skimming the wall, he made his way across the study room.

_Possibility of person being the last roommate and that new kid – almost 95 percent. The chance that he's gay based on those shoes...– no, I'd rather not calculate that._

So, sliding back into his earlier relaxed, lazy posture and demeanor, he knocked on the little black door of the last room none of them had chosen.

No answer.

Therefore, Shikamaru just opened the door and took a step inside. Just one step, because what his eyes fell upon stopped him from taking anymore after that.

There weren't many times that Shikamaru made wrong calculations – in some way or another, they'd all been correct. There _was_ one time when he'd guessed Neji would be slaughtered by fangirls after shooting the winning goal to a soccer game – he'd been wrong, because Naruto had pulled him off the field right after and sat him in between him and Shikamaru.

The fangirls didn't approach on the fear of getting killed by any of the other men's fangirls.

That'd probably been the only time he had guessed wrong ever since starting school at the International Institute of Learning – Elementary School.

But this…took his miscalculations onto a whole new level.

On the bed was a sleeping, beautiful woman with startling pink hair. Shikamaru didn't have hormone problems – she was just naturally pretty. Her hair was long and thin – swept up into a high ponytail, soft bangs grazed her cheeks from the position she was lying in on her left side. She was wearing a long-sleeved turtleneck that developed into a mask onto the bottom portion of her face, which caused him to toy with the idea of her being related to Kakashi-sensei. Her lower half was covered with dark blue skinny jeans, and a white FCUK sweatshirt (he could just make out the words) was wrapped around her waist. Shikamaru oddly found himself wishing she would open her eyes.

He briefly wondered if he might have been seeing things, or the beautiful woman sleeping peacefully on the bed might have just been a wandering traveler that got tired, but those ideas were immediately fired down.

One: because his eyesight was 20/20.

Two: he wasn't prone to hallucinations.

Three: There was this kind of girly-looking duffle bag right beside her.

Four: No way could she have gotten in without the right keys, meaning someone gave them to her or she stole them.

Five: she definitely didn't steal them. No thief has pink hair. Even if they wore weird masks.

Six: He wasn't getting anywhere just by standing there.

Seven: The Principal was going to have to explain a hell lot of things before this day ended.

With that in mind, Shikamaru moaned and thumped his head against the doorway a couple times.

_What a draaag…_

This actually made the girl on the bed stir – he'd forgotten she was there for a second. Shikamaru stiffened, as her eyes slowly started to blink open…

* * *

Sakura had been dreaming about lovely black chrysanthemums dancing amidst the evil, pink graveyards, before there was suddenly this loud thumping sound.

At first, she figured the zombies were trying to rise and she was so happy! _I get to see zombies!_

But then she woke up.

_Well, damn. So much for zombies._

And then her eyes started to open.

_I think I just missed the first day of school._

And that's when she fully awoke and attempted to sit up and get off the bed at the same time. The end result was her landing on her butt and clutching an arm that fell asleep.

"Aw shit…" she groaned, and pressed down on a pressure point in her fore-arm – the arm immediately woke up. It paid off to study medicine with Tsunade – she developed millions of shortcuts, being too lazy to go through the whole process.

"Missed the damn first day of school…well fuck," Sakura mumbled, yawning and ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, you sure as hell did," drawled a manly voice in front of her. She froze.

Looking up slowly, there was tall man with a spiky ponytail standing in front of her. His posture just screamed "I don't give a damn", not to mention the way he wore his crumpled school uniform.

She took a deep breath, and then breathed out slowly – just like before. Sakura was glad she'd at least gone to sleep with her mask on this time – and it gave her time to force her facial expressions to a poker face.

"Nice to meet you," she said – monotone. He didn't look surprised at the lack of emotion in her voice at all – rather, it looked as if he was used to it.

"Yeah, how troublesome…" he continued drawling. "Listen, you need to come with me to the Main Office, to get things cleared up."

Sakura didn't move from her sitting spot on the floor. Which was getting kind of comfortable.

"I'm the new student here; I've already been to the Main Office."

"Then have you read the folder of information?" he asked, now looking interested.

"Not completely."

"Then I still have to explain the problem?"

"…You have a problem with me living here?" Her voice started to take on an irritated tone.

Shikamaru sighed, shutting his eyes. _This is like an Uchiha reborn, right here._

"No, the problem is that you're in Division A."

"Oh, so I'm not good enough to be in Division A?!"

"Not that."

"Then what do you want?"

"…How troublesome…" He shuffled past her and grabbed the blue folder sitting on her desk. Flipping through, he stopped triumphantly at the page describing the divisions of the High School.

"Here," he said, sticking it in her face. "Read Division A's summary."

Her eyes scanned the page fast, almost surprising him with her reading speed, until he saw her get to the part that was the most important.

She finally expressed an emotion – disdain and disbelief flitted across.

"Fuck."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, fuck. So why are you here?"

"I got in by way through scholarship, full scores. Ero-sen—I mean, the Principal put me into Division A…"

She suddenly took on a face of understanding, before shifting it to a glare equal to an Uchiha's death glare. Shikamaru mentally took a note – "Never piss off super smart pink-haired girls wearing weird Kakashi-sensei masks".

"Jiraiya…" she growled, eyes alight with fury.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," Sakura bowed to the man, standing up with clenched fists. "And by the end of the day your principal will probably be dead, so I'm going to apologize for that beforehand."

Shikamaru sweatdropped, raising an eyebrow at her words. He caught her wrist as she started to leave the room. _This is who I lost my number one place for years to?_

"Hey, hey…I'd rather you not kill our principal. And you called him Ero-sennin?" he mentioned. "That's what one of my friends calls him."

"Oh, then you're friends with Naruto?" she asked, seemingly forgetting her plan to pummel Jiraiya into the next few centuries.

"Yeah, the blonde kid." Sakura then remembered many of her memories with Naruto's visits, including a certain characteristic of his.

"…Would it be bad if there were people who knew I was a girl and I was accepted into Division A?"

Shikamaru's brow furrowed. "Yes…why?"

"Because Naruto knows."

All conversation ditched, Shikamaru immediately dropped everything and grabbed her wrist again. They ran out the door, she having to pull on a pair of flip-flops way too big and belonging to someone else in order to catch up to him.

"Why are we rushing?" Sakura questioned, walking fast next to him.

"Because Naruto knows," he responded, not explaining anymore. He didn't need to – Sakura knew how Naruto was one you could never EVER shut up.

"Shit." And so she doubled her pace, before looking back at Shikamaru.

"I never got your name…?"

"Nara Shikamaru. You're Sakura," he said, with a matter of fact tone. He'd read her folder of information, after all.

"Great. Now where's Naruto?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"I have no idea." She raised a skeptical eyebrow in return.

"Then why the hell are we running?"

"Because we need to get to the damned troublesome Principal before Naruto tells the whole world of your existence."

"Good enough."

And they speed-walked the rest of the way in tense silence.

_I haven't even been here for a day, and the drama already begins. So much for a peaceful life, _Sakura groaned.

* * *

"Hn…?" Neji panted, finally reaching the dorm room. He swiped his card in – even if only to show that he was home, because their front door was apparently not even closed.

He prayed to God, once again, that a fangirl wasn't able to sneak in…

Looking at the list of people at home, he noticed Shikamaru was still signed in. _Shikamaru wouldn't leave the door hanging open. He has his own fangirls to deal with…_

Several thudding footsteps sounded to his left, where Neji saw Sasuke running towards him.

"**Hn.**" They both greeted each other at the same time, just nodding their heads in acknowledgement. Sasuke moved to swipe his own card, before pausing to raise an eyebrow at the door.

"It seems Shikamaru left in a hurry. He wouldn't leave the door open if he was home," Neji explained.

"Must have been urgent," Sasuke grunted. **(A/N: Jeez, men with their grunts.)**

Having successfully signed into the card system, they filed into the house tiredly – running from fangirls was worse than soccer practice, Neji decided.

There was one thing both cold-hearted geniuses were known for – their miraculous insight. It wasn't something that was easy to explain, but Neji decreed that it was a trait within his Hyuuga family. Their blank, almost translucent eyes always seemed to be looking right through you. He had an idea of what you wanted to say or what you were feeling even before you expressed it.

Sasuke never said anything about it, but sometimes his eye would burn into a crimson red sort of color. Of course, whenever that happened the fangirls would go completely berserk and swoon over "Sasu-kun, His Gorgeousness"…which made Neji let out an amused smirk.

At least until his fangirls started swooning over his hair, and then Sasuke returned the smirk.

The relationship between them was a weird one – they were friends, yes, but rarely did anybody see them interact more than sneering at each other or running away from fangirls together. Their relationship was more like a silent sort of respect that they had for each other.

So because they were both incredibly smart, meaning at the top of their class, they were privileged to live in Dorm S, which they were entering now. Dorm S was reserved for the Top Four Division A students in sophomore year – last year, as freshmen, they'd bunked with Shikamaru and Shino in another house just as fancy, if not less, than this one.

This year, Shino didn't make it into the Top Four. (He started his sulking practice right after that.) Instead, Neji was shocked to find that **he **was number four – last year, he'd been number two. Sasuke stayed in his third chair, but Shikamaru…Shikamaru, who had always held seat one for as long as Neji could remember since their days in Elementary School… The very same Shikamaru was now number **two.**

What made everything worse was that whoever the number one person was, he didn't show up in the morning – and he didn't show up for class either. Sasuke hoped they'd just kick him out and move all their chairs up by one – then maybe bring Shino back. Having Shino with them had always warded off some fangirls… and he made some nice conversation, if you could talk about something very far related from bugs.

Either way, Sasuke and Neji were extremely intelligent – enough to graduate a normal high school, if they attended one. So because of their intelligence, there weren't many things that escaped their attention or their incredible insight.

Including the fact that Shikamaru, no matter how lazy he was, would **never** leave the door hanging open like that – unless the building was about to blow up.

Nor did it escape their attention that apparently some weird shoes were piled neatly alongside Neji's girly tendency of organizing everything – in Sasuke's perspective, at least.

"Uchiha, do not tell me those puny girl shoes are yours," Neji stated, eyes narrowing at the strange black boots. Well…at least the person was respectful enough to line them up with his organization.

"Are you mad, Hyuuga? And where the hell did my flip-flops go?" he retorted, dreading that a fangirl might have stolen them. Neji blinked. He'd actually missed something the Uchiha had caught. That was a bad omen.

"A bad omen. I missed that," he told Sasuke, who immediately understood. They weren't too egotistical to shove it in each others faces when one caught something the other didn't – rather, because they knew each other well, both took it as a bad omen.

"Hn. I'm going to check the rest of the house," Sasuke muttered, walking off and throwing his sports bag onto the couches. Neji followed suit.

There didn't seem to be much out of place. Shikamaru's bag was slung over the stairs – that was normal, it had been his habit ever since he was little. Everything else seemed pretty much untouched.

Except when they heard a creaking sound. Turning around sharply, both tensed in case thief or, Gods above, a **fangirl** was in their home. Neji let out a small sigh of relief when he didn't see any.

Instead, the door to the last bedroom neither of them had taken was swinging back and forth.

Curiously, Sasuke crept forward to look inside. Upon first glance, he understood one thing.

"New kid was here," he grunted to Neji. Neji came over to look as well, both shuffling into the little black room. While he perused over the weirdly girly duffle bag on the bed, and how it looked slightly rumpled as if someone had slept on it (that irritated him, rumpled sheets), Sasuke bent to pick up the paper scattered all over the floor.

He shuffled through a few, realizing it was the folder of info they'd all gotten on the first day of school when they joined. His came to him in Fourth grade, which was the lowest grade I.I.L provided school for.

"Sakura, no recorded last name," he read out loud, fishing out her personal information. Neji sat on the bed and settled into a brooding position, tilting his head to show he was listening.

"Gender…Female," Sasuke continued, amazed at what he was reading.

"Student of: Division A. Status: Number One. On-Campus Dorm: Dorm…S," he pronounced, voice low and amused.

"Division A does not allow females," Neji stated bluntly, eyes narrowed in slight anger. He didn't voice the word 'females' with contempt, but just as if he was naturally stating the rules.

"The smartest girls are in Division B," Sasuke finished for him. Both just stared at each other for a while.

"I take it this is why Shikamaru ran off," Sasuke continued muttering to himself. Neji shook his head.

"No, Shikamaru would not run off with…Sakura, if that was the only reason," he said in dissent. "There must have been another factor we do not know."

At that moment, a loud pounding sounded on their door.

"YOOOOOO! TEMEEEEE, FATE-BASTAAARD, LET ME INNNNNNN!!" yelled a certain loud-mouthed blonde.

Neji shut his eyes in irritation, while Sasuke visible cringed.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DOBE!" he roared back, slamming the file down onto the desk and going to open the door.

Neji decided to take the file with him, close the bedroom door gently, and then join him.

"Well, you guys wouldn't hear me otherwise—"

"No, dobe, there's such thing as a doorbell—"

"—So I just yelled, and have you seen a girl—"

"—which you can press and…wait, a girl?"

"—with like pink hair, and green eyes, and—"

Neji stormed in to stop their petty argument by slapping Naruto in the head with Sakura's folder.

"What girl, dobe?" Sasuke asked. Naruto blinked.

"Teme, I always thought you were gay, why are you so interest—"

"Shut up," he scowled. "Just name the girl."

"Oh, I'm looking for Sakura-chan. See, the funny thing is she said she was in Division A when I ran into her earlier – you know we've actually been good friends for a while? Anyway, I thought I heard her wrong, I mean how could she be in Division A? I didn't even see her in class today so she probably went to Division B but you never know and I can't find her now…Oh , and she calls Ero-sennin Ero-sennin as well which makes her pretty cool and she has this really pretty pink hair and these really cool green eye things that always get mad at me, and you know, actually, her punches really hurt sometimes when I start rambling because she punches me a lot and…hey, are you guys even listening?!" he paused, annoyed.

Neji and Sasuke had stopped listening around the point where Naruto said he knew she was in Division A.

"This is why Shikamaru was in a hurry," Neji muttered. "She probably told him Naruto already knew."

"I'd rather not meet a friend of the dobe," Sasuke muttered as well. "And now I wonder who else knows, since Naruto probably screamed it for the whole world to hear…"

Thus, they both slouched down onto the couches to continue listening to Naruto ramble on from Sakura, to ramen, to HInata (at which Neji twitched dangerously), to beef ramen, to every damned typed of ramen in the world.

By the time Naruto was finished, the clock said it was already 8:18, and Shikamaru and Sakura were still not back yet. Neji took Naruto finishing as the cue to wake up from his half-conscious slumber. He tapped Sasuke once on the shoulder, and upon receiving a glare in return, he pointed to Naruto who was lying in another couch and drooling in whatever dream he was having.

"We should probably," Neji murmured quietly, "go join Shikamaru and the girl." Sasuke nodded, a gesture so small a normal person would not have a caught it.

"We go to the Main Office," he murmured back, and both got up to leave. As Neji slid his flip-flops on, Sasuke muttered some profanities and then slid on his uncomfortable dress shoes.

"Where the hell did my flip-flops go…?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

_**A/N : **__07.26.08 (treeshie)_

_I'm terribly happy, because the first chapter actually had more than one review. And yes, I plan on continuing and finishing this story. Although I'm guessing everyone says that, until for some unexplainable reason they drop it. I'm not making any promises. If I suddenly die – sorry, you'll have to finish the story by yourself. _

_Now, let me just make it clear fangirls are really fun to bash – even though I'm pretty much one as well. Yes, bashing myself is hilariously fun. Anyway, I gain some terrible sense of pleasure in doing that. Hehehe. I realize a lot of things are confusing, too, so sorry about that. Just ask and I'll be sure to explain things._

_So, to make it clear, the ones living with Sakura are Sasuke (duh), Neji, and Shikamaru. Some of my most loved characters, MUAH! Naruto doesn't live with them – he might be in Division A, but he is, all in all, a dobe. Heehee._

_I can't believe I wrote this all in one go. Ugh. Sorry, I think the next chapter might take three days or so. I hate it if I have to force myself to write up some plot – they turn out bad. Please excuse the fact I need some time to let it all naturally flow out. Hope you had run reading! _


	3. THREE: Startling Reunion

DISCLAIMER: All Naruto-affiliated things aren't owned by me BECAUSE I DON'T OWN THEM. GRAWR.

* * *

**STARTLING REUNION :CHAPTER THREE:**

* * *

Jiraiya was squatting on **top **(yes, on top) of his desk, scrutinizing the letter in front of him with an angry expression.

"YOU OLD LADY!" he growled, pointing an accusing finger at it, eyes feral.

That's how Shikamaru and Sakura found him when they stormed into the office. And then they immediately both looked at each other with "what the fuck" faces.

Sakura decided voicing it out would be best. "What the fuck, Ero-sennin?"

Neither realized they were still holding hands from Shikamaru dragging Sakura here the whole way – or rather, he was holding her hand through her sleeve, because the sleeves of her turtleneck skimmed way past her hands.

Jiraiya looked up at them with the same face he had shot the tiny white letter with, and shouted at them too.

"YOU YOUNG…YOUNGSTERS!" he yelled, struggling to find the right words. His finger not pointed accusingly at them.

Shikamaru groaned. He so didn't have time for the random ramblings of their crazy principal; in fact, he wished he was still lying peacefully on the roof and watching the clouds go by again…

Sakura groaned by his side as well, mainly because the Ero-sennin just had to choose right then to start acting like the old man that he was, and Shikamaru was daydreaming with some drool sleeping out the corner of his mouth. She seriously didn't want to know what he dreaming about, either.

"Look, Ero-sennin, get over your senile-ness before I PUNCH YOUR FACE TO THE GROUND," she growled. Jiraiya paled, a picture of his last encounter with Tsunade crossing his mind.

Immediately, he sat down properly in his chair and took on the air of a school principal, managing to squeak out, "Yes, ma'am, of course, ma'am!"

Shikamaru snapped out of his daze. _Right. The day I make her I'm going to get fucked over…bad. _He gulped. Suddenly, the idea of reversing back time to his roof-episode was just that much more appealing.

"Right, uh…" he stumbled, still slightly in shock. Sakura sighed.

"Just tell me why I'm in the boy's class," she murmured, tired with it all. Was she **ever** going to be able to lead a normal life? And what if she wasn't allowed to attend this academy anymore because Jiraiya **forgot** Division A was for guys or something?

"It's nothing, really," Jiraiya shrugged. They stared at him. "I mean, you're the exception because the scores we received were _much_ higher than anyone else's, **including you, **Nara," he added, when Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest. This quieted him, and he now regarded Sakura with an amazed expression.

_I know she was first seat this year, but she beat me by that much? _Shikamaru wasn't one to brag over his intelligence, but he was a genius, really, so…where did that put Sakura, then?

"Shikamaru, don't look at me like that," she said crossly. "And does this mean I can still attend school here? No difficulties or anything?" This time, Jiraiya dropped his principal act and lifted his mouth into a leering grin.

"Oho…I thought I gave you the folder for a reason, Sakura," he supplied. "I told you before, everything – **everything **– is written in there. Including whatever you're about to ask me now." Sakura shut her mouth at that, looking irritated but slightly embarrassed.

"Fine," she remarked, turning on her heels. "I'll go look it over. If I find anything…**inappropriate**," she paused to glare at Jiraiya again, who gulped, "then you're dead."

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered, before being dragged out the room by Sakura. At this point, he realized they'd been holding hands the whole time, and his cheeks tinged a light pink before he pushed it down.

_Nara Shikamaru, you are not succumbing to hormones, _he chastised himself, thoroughly annoyed he even had to do this.

They stormed out the office as fast as they stormed in, Sakura's temper driving their brisk walking pace across campus. She fumed inside at her own idiocy for having not researched the folder completely first, but was still relieved. Unconsciously, she squeezed Shikamaru's hand, causing him to look at her silently.

_I can still go to school here, and Naruto screaming it out won't result in any trouble…I hope. _Somehow, the subject being Naruto made her doubt that. She gave a soft sigh.

They'd reached right outside Dorm S. Shikamaru was about to ask her why she was sighing, until – to both their surprises – the door to the dorm opened. Out stepped Neji and Sasuke, looking equally surprised as Sakura and Shikamaru were.

"Going out?" he asked curiously. They didn't often go places together without him. Sasuke shook his head from behind Neji, his gaze for some reason lingering on Sakura's feet.

"No, we were going to go look for you," he explained, eyes never once wavering from Sakura's feet. She looked at him weirdly, before checking her feet to see if there was anything there…

"Oh. Are these your flip-flops?" she said, giving him an apologetic look. "Shikamaru dragged me out really fast, so I had to improvise and grab whatever was within reach…like your flip-flops."

Sasuke didn't say a word, of course, but he gave Shikamaru a slight glare before turning back to go into the house. Meanwhile, Neji hadn't said a word. For the whole time, Shikamaru noticed that Neji had been looking at Sakura with a curious expression on – one that he couldn't place.

"Well," Sakura said, looking back and forth from Shikamaru – who was looking at Neji – to Neji, who was looking at her. "As much as I love standing out here, we should probably follow the Chicken-ass haired guy and go in."

At the mention of Sasuke's weird hair shape, Shikamaru gave a light chuckle and ushered all three of them inside once they swiped his and Sakura's cards. Neji broke out of his daze, still looking at her with that emotion Shikamaru couldn't place, but gave a slight smirk.

"Everything was settled, Nara?" he asked softly, so that Sakura wouldn't hear. She was walking down the hall, having placed Sasuke's flip-flops daintily back where she got them from. The two boys stayed back a bit.

"Not quite," he answered, giving an indifferent shrug and starting to walk. "But she's still in Division A, and she's still living here."

Neji gave no answer to that, so Shikamaru took that as an okay. You really learned how to interpret silences well once having lived with Uchiha's and Hyuuga's for so long.

"WAIIIII! SAKURA-CHAN, SAKURA-CHAN!" yelled an over-exuberant Naruto from his previous position of sleeping on the couch. Sasuke sweatdropped. God knows how Naruto woke up the minute Sakura walked into the room.

She gave him a sad attempt of a smile, more peeved than anything. _Do I really have to deal with him right now?_

Sasuke seemed to understand – she was acting how he acted sometimes. Quietly, he pointed to the folder Neji had left on the small table and muttered that she should just take it and go. Unspoken thanks transferred from her eyes to his, and she held out a hand. Naruto continued blabbering about something in the background.

"Sakura," she said softly, so soft that Sasuke had to lean forward a bit to catch it. He took her hand, eyes widening as a shiver went through his body as soon as their skin touched. He didn't catch her going through the same exact shivering motion as he did.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he responded, voice deep and husky. Sakura shivered slightly again – this time, it didn't evade Sasuke's dark eyes. He smirked slightly, knowing his presence had some sort of effect on her.

"Ahem," came a cough from behind them. They turned to see Neji with a slightly raised eyebrow. He looked pointedly at where their hands were interlocked, and as if she was set on fire, Sakura jumped and dropped Sasuke's hand.

"Ah, s-sorry," she stuttered, not daring to look at him. She wouldn't know what to do if he gave another one of those smirks that made her heart flutter. Their handshake had held on for a second too long – it didn't even occur to her that she'd held Shikamaru's hand for more than an hour just prior.

_Shit…PLAN BACKFIRING…_ Inside her mind, some other conscious of hers was roaring over the whole situation.

"Right, uh…Uchiha-san, sorry about using your shoes without first asking," she apologized once again, bowing slightly. Sakura was up-to-date in everything the world went through – including the fact that the Uchiha family was a most wealthy, noble clan residing in Japan. Thus her respectful bow.

"Sakura-chan," called the long brown-haired man from before. She turned, took one look at his eyes, and bowed as well. _I don't care how high in politics he is, he did NOT just add a –chan behind my name…_

"Nice to meet you, Hyuuga-san," she said stiffy. He looked at her with surprise, before chuckling slightly.

"Sakura-chan…it's Neji."

She furrowed her brows, trying to remember where she'd heard that name before. Hyuuga…Neji?

Sakura shot up quickly from her bowed position, fixing him with a shocked and yet happy expression.

"Neji-kun?"

--+--+--+--

"_Sakura-chan, it's alright," soothed Tsunade from beside her. She sat staring blankly out the window, just sitting there on her bed. The normally laughing jade eyes held no emotion._

"_There will be a family out there for you, and you have plenty of time," Tsunade continued. Sakura had been turned down from another family, for…she couldn't even count anymore._

_Tsunade huffed silently within herself. Why wouldn't anyone want Sakura? She was brilliant for a six year old, her smile was dazzling, and she was just so caring and sweet…_

"_You're wrong, Tsunade-mama," Sakura croaked, a single tear escaping down her cheek. Tsunade would have smiled at the endearing suffix attached to her name, if not for the graveness of the situation._

"_Sakura, you're a beautiful child – anyone in their right mind would adopt you in a heartbeat," she cooed, though it broke her heart to say it. Tsunade cursed herself for her selfish wish of wanting Sakura to never leave her side._

"_Then why haven't they adopted me yet?!" she choked, more tears falling. Giving a sob, Sakura pushed Tsunade away and ran out of her room. Tsunade called after her weakly._

"_Sakura!"_

_But she had already run out onto the dirty streets of New York._

_Crying softly, she reached the place she came to often whenever she was feeling down. It was a little children's park, with only a single, forlorn rusted metal swing and one puny sandbox. It was deserted, like always – Sakura found comfort in the silence, with only the squeaking of the swing to answer her._

_She stumbled to sit onto the swing, and continued crying. The rusting iron answered her cries, squeaking out louder than ever. But Sakura didn't even notice – she was too absorbed in her sorrow to look up and see the swings were slowly collapsing._

_At that moment, a little boy with long, brown hair turned the corner. His glance was one of disinterest – and one that withheld a touch of sadness as well. Instead of normal clothes, he was wearing a traditional Japanese kimono for boys, and there were bandages wrapped around his forehead, pulling his hair back._

_His piercing white eyes took in all that was around him carefully, until they spotted the little girl with the prettiest shade of rose he had ever seen for her hair. She was sitting all by herself on the still swings…_

_And she was crying._

_There was something about the girl that drew him to her. She seemed about his age, if not younger from her seemingly small frame, and she was dressed lightly in a slightly dirtied blue sundress._

_The boy frowned. It was already the end of August – today was particularly chilly. She would catch a cold if she continued crying in those scanty clothes._

_He walked towards her gracefully, yet every step firm and heavy – like he understood the world. One look at his expression dissuaded anyone from thinking otherwise, even if he was too young to comprehend the worldly horrors and pains._

_Sakura looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Her vision was blurred terribly by the infernal tears that kept sliding out. She hurriedly wiped her arm back and forth over her eyes, trying to contain her sniffles. _

"_Don't do that." Sakura paused at the soft, commanding voice. She obeyed, but as soon as her arm came down the tears came down harder as well._

_She faintly made out a shuffling sound, and then suddenly a fabric – it felt like soft, smooth cotton – was wiping all her tears away, gently. Once her vision returned slightly, she blinked and stared at the young boy in front of her who was clearing it._

"_Wh-who…ar-hic!...are y-you?" she managed to say, her heart still clenching and voice still unsteady. At the hiccup, she turned her head down out of embarrassment, seizing his soft brushing of her tears._

"_Stop crying," he commanded again. And she tried, she really did. Because someone was being nice to her, and Sakura knew that when they were nice to her, she should always be nice back._

_But the tears wouldn't stop._

--+--+--+--

"Hn," he smirked triumphantly, arms dropping to his sides from their previous crossed position. Sakura gave a light, airy laugh – and a smile. A smile she hadn't shown in a long, long time to anyone.

"It's such a small world, isn't it…" she murmured, implying it more as a fact than a question. Neji didn't say anything. They just took in each other's appearances, having last seen each other at the tender age of six. Both were remembering that fateful incident from their childhoods which brought them to become good friends.

--+--+--+--

_Suddenly, she felt an immense amount of warmth steal into her cold body. Startled, she was confused for a few seconds until it dawned on her._

_The boy was giving her a hug. He rubbed her back slowly, repeating the strokes in a calming rhythm._

"_Shh," he whispered next to her ear, "Don't cry…"_

_Neji didn't know what was compelling him to do outrageous things like hugging a random girl. He inwardly scoffed at himself, having been taught by his uncle never to talk to strangers. They were Hyuuga's, after all – his eyes were all too distinguishable. Hell, the girl might have been put there to kidnap him._

_But for some reason, Neji found himself ignoring all logic and going ahead to comfort her anyway._

_And after a while, Sakura really did calm down. She pushed his chest softly, signaling for him to let go. He stood back and watched her with the same piercing gaze he held to everything._

_Wiping the last of her tears away with the little handkerchief Neji had somehow snuck into her hand, she managed to give him a shaky smile and her eyes lit up somewhat._

_Neji looked somewhat happier as his handiwork started to smile brightly._

"_I'm Sakura," she giggled, sticking a hand out. Neji was taken aback for a second, having been put into alert mode the minute her hand moved. Once he realized there was no threat, he enveloped her small hand with his only slightly bigger one smoothly._

"_My name is Neji," he pronounced, voice already giving away his serious nature. Sakura, if possible, just smiled even brighter at his introduction, not even caring about his grave tone._

"_Hi, Neji! Nice to meet you!" she beamed. Shaking his hand quickly, she got up and startled him by pushing him down onto the swings instead. Giving her now a full glance-over, he found her testing his curiosity for some reason._

"_Why were you crying?" he asked softly. She stiffened a bit, before nonchalantly trying to shrug her shoulders._

"_Welll…" she started, in that childish tone he usually hated from other girls his age, "I'm an orphan, actually."_

_She said this so matter-of-factly that Neji was taken aback, once again. _She does not mind?

"_And, well…there's not much to say, but apparently none of the families want me," she finished, looking a bit put-out._

_He was silent for a bit, before asking, "Do you not want to be adopted anymore?" She grinned at him in return._

"_Will you be my friend?"_

--+--+--+--

Naruto was muttering fast about something that sounded like "Neji…smiling…omen…BAD…" in a dark corner.

Sasuke was looking rather affronted about being swept aside so fast in their exchange, but he found himself narrowing his eyes at Neji for unknown reasons. Catching himself before he turned it into a full-blown glare, Sasuke was surprised.

_Why does it feel like I'm jealous?_

Shikamaru watched the whole thing silently, deducing them to be long-time acquaintances. He actually was thinking that skipping cloud-watching was worth it today – Neji had this dreamy _smile_ on his face. Shikamaru let out another amused smirk. _Sasuke is also being quite entertaining._

--+--+--+--

_Neji stared._

"_Oh, come on, it's not a hard question, Neji-kun," she giggled, patting his head softly. He blushed a bit when she called him Neji-kun, not being used to it._

"_If you will accept me, I will be your friend," was his reply. She made a slight face at his politeness, before shrugging it all off and grabbing one of his hands to pull him up, standing beside her. Sakura released his hand, holding out her right one and clenching all fingers into a fist, save for her little pinky sticking out._

"Yakusoku_?" she said, suddenly now a bit shy. He was surprised she knew how to speak Japanese, because they had been speaking English up 'til then. Her rose-tinted hair didn't suggest any lineage of Asian blood…but then again, he supposed, Caucasians didn't have those traits either._

"_Aa," Neji felt himself smiling in return. He was shocked at himself – he didn't smile often, because Uncle decreed emotions as non useful things – and because there was nothing much to smile at._

"Yakusoku._" He linked his pinky with hers, both tugging at the same time to seal deal. Neji found himself unwittingly chuckling as she laughed happily._

--+--+--+--

Sakura found herself sighing a content sigh as her mind was swept back to those times. During his whole one-year stay in New York, they'd played together all the time by meeting up at their little playground. Neji-kun had been a really serious boy – but Sakura found that if she pushed the right buttons, he could provide much fun.

"I cannot believe you are in Division A, as number one," he said. She noticed his voice had gotten much more deeper, and even more mysteriously enticing…

_BAKA! What are you THINKING?! _She almost slapped herself for that one.

"And I can't believe you're still talking the "I-have-a-polite-stick-stuck-down-my-throat" talk," she quipped back, earning some smirks and giggled from the men around them.

"Mah, it is hard to get rid of," he apologized, both of them knowing he didn't mean one word of it.

Shikamaru cut in. "Alright, Sakura – no matter how much I respect you for making Hyuuga smile," at which she smirked and Neji looked away quickly, "We have to get down to business here."

She nodded. "I seriously have to live here with three guys?"

Naruto cackled and whispered next to her ear, "It's actually one – Neji and Teme are really girls."

Having no idea what Naruto said but somehow feeling it was about them anyway, the said people both strode over and slammed his head together.

"Let's kick the dobe out now," Sasuke muttered, releasing a murderous intent.

"Aa." Neji grabbed the collar of Naruto's uniform and started dragging him out.

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his head, yawning.

"This happen often?" Sakura asked. He nodded tiredly.

"Anyway, Sakura, come here," he motioned for her to come over to where he was laying lazily on the couch.

Grabbing her waist gently and causing her to squeak a bit, he pulled her down until she was sitting on the couch with her back trapped against his stomach.

Shikamaru gave her another lazy grin before grabbing the folder on the table in front of them and handing it over to her. She blushed, because his hand was still settled around her waist snugly.

"Here, take the troublesome folder and go read in your room," he murmured beside her ear as he sat up. Sakura shivered slightly as his breath washed over her ear gently, before nodding and taking the blue folder.

"If you do it out here, you'll never get any work done," he explained, before pausing to yawn and lie down again. "Once Naruto comes, it gets real troublesome…"

Without another word, he fell asleep. She laughed lightly at the sight, before grabbing a blanket she spotted on a chair in the kitchen and returning to place it over him.

Stepping back to smile at her handiwork, Sakura gripped the folder tight and strode over to the black door leading into her room.

Thus, an hour later, Sasuke and Naruto were still having a heated argument over "dobes" and "temes"; Neji was trying to see if they were going to get any dinner at all in the kitchen, it being already nine-something-o'clock; and Shikamaru was still sleeping on the couch peacefully.

That all stopped abruptly, because an hour later starting from when Neji first dragged Naruto away – Sakura let out a scream from her room, freezing all the men at once.

TO BE CONTINUED….

* * *

**A/N : **_07.27.08 (treeshie)_

_I must say, I'm finishing this up at 2:00 in the morning, and so the ending is rather rushed – sorry. I wanted to get this posted up before going to sleep, and any later than this my Aunt will storm out her room looking incredibly cranky and kill me. Oh - and I trust you all know that "yakusoku" means "promise"?  
_

_So yeah. I think I'm starting to make Sakura look like a whore. Woopsies. Didn't mean it, of course – I love Saki-chan, seriously. And there's another problem. I seriously love Neji as well. So that prompts my really important question…**FOLLOWING THIS IS A **_**_REALLY__, __SERIOUSLY, IMMENSELY __IMPORTANT QUESTION…_**

_**Would any of you be mad if I switched this from a **_sasuXsaku_** fic to a **_sasuX**neji**_** fic? pouts**_

_Thanks for reviewing, for those who did and for those who will – your reviews are all much appreciated! Have a nice life!_


	4. FOUR: Blossom Into Snow

**DISCLAIMER**: All Naruto-affiliated things do not belong to me. But Neji does. …oh come ON, I can DREAM can't I?! _(Neji does not belong to treeshie, goddamnit all…)_

ABOUT CHANGING THE FIC – IT IS STILL UNDECIDED. I'm going to just continue writing for now, and see which path turns out to be the most fluffiest, cutest ever. Aw…and though Shika is incredibly adorable and my second favorite, he's not going to be a love interest. Sorry! Oh, and I'll try to bring out Sakura's mask thing more – I realize sometimes when I read my own story I forget she's wearing it. Yeah, need to fix that…

* * *

_RECAP:_

…_An hour later, Sasuke and Naruto were still having a heated argument over "dobes" and "temes"; Neji was trying to see if they were going to get any dinner at all in the kitchen, it being already nine-something-o'clock; and Shikamaru was still sleeping on the couch peacefully._

_That all stopped abruptly, because an hour later starting from when Neji first dragged Naruto away – Sakura let out a scream from her room, freezing all the men at once…_

* * *

**BLOSSOM INTO SNOW :CHAPTER FOUR:**

* * *

"Sakura?!" shouted Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji at once. Shikamaru didn't say a word – he opted instead to give his face a pale make-over and sprinted immediately to her room, Neji following close behind.

"Sakura, are you okay?" he breathed out, slamming the door open. Neji arrived as well, and he breathed a sigh of relief after seeing there was nothing dangerous inside the room.

Sakura was kneeling on the bed, clutching her face in her hands and moaning something intelligible that Shikamaru didn't catch. There were papers scattered all over in front of her, a blue folder sitting on the side to let them know the papers were from there.

Sasuke popped up at the door, sending a questioning look to Neji. He shrugged in response – he didn't know what the scream was about either.

Naruto – who'd been following Sasuke – scrambled past all of them and started fussing over Sakura.

"Are you okay?! Sakura-chan?! Answer me! Why aren't you answering me? OH MY GOD, Neji go call the ambulance or something! Was it a rapist? Sakura-chan?! Are you crying?! Tell me you're not crying…Was it a thief? I'll beat the shit outta any thief or rapist, so just tell me! Sakura-chan?! SAKURA-CHAN?!"

Shikamaru moved forward to release Sakura from Naruto's grasp, seeing as he was starting to shake her rather violently by the shoulders. The usually lazy genius fixed him with a pointed look, signaling for him to calm down.

Sakura was now muttering louder. He barely caught some words, mouth formed in a tight slash across his face as he leaned forward to try to catch more.

"Stupid…can't…Ero…perv…believe…god…no," she muttered, adding in some profanities Shikamaru thought didn't even exist.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked concernedly, not able to make sense of her jumbled mess of words.

She sat there, silent for a while, before responding, "It's…nothing much, I was just overreacting…"

Neji gave her a look of concern as well, before walking over and picking up the paper she'd been clutching in her hands.

Sakura lifted her hands, a frown marring her usual pretty face. Her cheeks were also tinged a bit pink, and she sighed before motioning for Neji to read it out loud.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow, before proceeding to do what she asked.

_Dear Sakura, _he started, clearing his throat a bit before continuing. Everyone in the room – except for Sakura – quieted down and listened intently, even Naruto.

_Heeheehee…one day, you'll trust your beloved Ero-sennin for doing this, HAHAHA!_

All the guys looked at each other, giving "what the fuck" faces before Shikamaru nodded for Neji to continue. Sakura, who had calmed down, smirked a bit at Neji's attempt to politely narrate Jiraiya's weird speech habits.

_First, congratulations on making it here to the top school in all of Asia – situated in, of course, your hometown of Konoha. I'm taking a guess that the old lady already told you that, but if you didn't know…then now you do._

_Well, let's get down to business. Though I'm sounding a bit too old for my age, eh? I SO can still get girls with my wily charms! One day, you'll fall for me too, and I won't take you! HA!_

_Eh…yeah. Anyway, the top division here is Division A – I'm sure by now you've learned it's only for guys. Woops. It's not MY bidding, it's just the school Council is made up of stuck-up fat-ass spoiled bitchy old men, and they still have this women inferiority complex going on._

_Man, every time I have to attend one of those I'm tempted to bring Tsunade-hime or you with me just to shoot them down…_

_But because you've scored seriously high (honestly, I think it's the damned old lady trying to spite me) even __**without**__ a proper education, I've seen fit to specially place you into Division A._

_You better thank me later – I fought with the Council over that for a month. And you know ME. I COULD HAVE BEEN GETTING MORE GIRLS. Che._

_The sad thing is, we didn't get to a complete agreement. I had to compromise._

_Now, you're going to kill me after you read this, like I said…but remember, you'll thank me later! Hahaha!_

_Sorry, Sakura. You're not allowed to back out of this school until you finish your three-year high school scholarship contract with us._

_And you're still in Division A._

_And you're going to have to pretend to be a boy._

…_I think I'll end the letter here. Any more questions, you can ask me personally – tell the office ladies (I picked them, aren't they HOT?) that Sakura or Naruto is looking for the principal. I accept you guys at any time. (It is SO NOT because being principal is boring and you guys are entertaining.)_

_And if you come looking for me, PLEASE refrain from mass murder… AND DON'T TELL TSUNADE-HIME WHATEVER YOU DO, PLEAAAAAAAASE?! I'M BEGGING YOU, DOWN ON MY KNEES…_

_I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE…………………!!_

_Just try to remember I did this so you can still go to school here, okay? And hey…who knows? After all, girl… you'll be surrounded by hot guys, eh?_

_See you around, don't kill me, I still have things to do on this world, bye!_

_Sincerely, the one who doesn't want to die – _

_Principal of the Konoha branch International Institute of Learning, High School Divisions A-C_

_**Jiraiya**_

_P.S.: You may tell whoever you wish about this, but they mustn't tell anyone else. If everyone knows, some are bound to be against it and a scandal will break out. The Council will kick you out and rip the contract the minute they get word of that happening…and be careful. They're looking forward to it._

Naruto stared at Sakura. Sasuke stared at the letter. Neji looked to Shikamaru. And Shikamaru moaned, "What a drag…"

Sakura had this irritated look in her jade green eyes, but she needed to continue receiving schooling here no matter what – so it surely couldn't be _that_ bad.

"Uniform?" Shikamaru drawled, the first to react from the other three to the situation. Sakura nodded, pointing to the plastic package behind her on the bed.

He picked it up and ripped it open, groaning as he realized it really was a full set of the men's uniform. But Neji, with his sharp ability to notice what was missing quickly, pointed out an important factor.

"There is no set of clothes for Phys. Ed.," he said, narrowing his eyes. Sakura hadn't bothered to look through the clothes before, but now that Neji had pointed it out, she realized it was true.

"You probably don't have to do gym," Shikamaru filled in. Sakura nodded in relief. _One less thing to worry about…thank god._

"I can trust you guys to not say anything…right?" she asked weakly, looking at each of their faces in turn. She lingered slightly on Naruto's.

"Of course you can, Sakura-chan! Believe it!" he grinned, cheering her a bit. Of course, she still shared a wary glance with Shikamaru over the idea of Naruto knowing.

Neji and Sasuke both nodded and grunted their assent. Shikamaru muttered something that sounded strangely like "troublesome", but nodded as well.

Sakura let out a breath she'd unconsciously been holding in. "Good. I wouldn't be able to keep it if I was going to live here."

"Naruto, make sure you don't mention Sakura's name to anyone," Shikamaru commanded, closing his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows to think carefully. Naruto nodded, giving them a thumb's up.

"Sakura, you need a new name," he continued, not moving from his thinking posture. She noted his hands were places together in a strange positioning, palms facing inwards and fingers stretching out to meet each other.

"Yeah, I thought about that too, but I can't think of anything," she confessed. "And I really don't want an only male name…a unisex name would be nice, because I don't want to convert into being really manly or whatever."

Neji smiled at that, while Sasuke smirked. They all grew silent, thinking of names while Shikamaru went over whatever other important things that needed attention in his mind.

"How about Aki?" Sasuke gave, looking at her expectantly. She considered it, unconsciously biting her lower lip through the thin black fabric of her mask. Sasuke oddly found his gaze drifting down towards that area, before wincing and pinching his thigh through his pockets, where his hands had been thrust into prior.

"Nah," she shook her head, "It's alright, but I don't feel much like autumn, right?" Naruto nodded profusely, more that he liked disagreeing with Sasuke then the name problem. Neji smirked.

"Then you should be named Yuki," he said softly, somehow a bit pleased that she didn't take Sasuke's suggestion.

Sakura brightened at that, liking the sound and meaning of the name.

"Yuki, meaning snow? I like that!" she smiled, thinking over how winter was her favorite season. It didn't occur to her that Neji had suggested Yuki for an altogether different reason, something revolving around his favorite memory with her from childhood.

"Right, ok…So you're Yuki for now," Shikamaru grunted, releasing his hand position and blinking his eyes slowly.

"To slide away other troublesome suspicions, you should also adopt a last name," he yawned, laying his head sleepily against Sakura's shoulder from where he sat next to her on the bed. She didn't mind, though Neji and Sasuke stiffened a bit at the movement.

Shikamaru inwardly smirked as his single lazy open eye caught it all.

_They're fun to mess with,_ he decided, as Neji forcibly relaxed his position and Sasuke pretended to be indifferent.

"I suggest adopting the Akimichi name," he continued, "because if you're going to take any last name, you're seriously going to have to get some relatives of that very family to agree and back you up in case of…troublesome times."

Neji looked slightly miffed, as did Sasuke. Shikamaru cut them both off by lifting his hand slowly and sighing.

"Look, Sasuke – you're an Uchiha. You should understand that your family is not going to randomly accept an orphan girl into their family, even if it's only temporary."

Sasuke looked away, knowing he was right.

"And Neji, you're a Hyuuga. You guys are like the same – troublesome tendencies to be proud, and all that. Your family stands out too much like the Uchihas, and they wouldn't accept Sakura that easily either."

Neji softened his features, nodding in agreement.

"What about me?" Naruto whined in the corner. "She could be an Uzumaki, right? Right?"

Shikamaru shook his head again, having thought over all of this earlier.

"Naruto, you should know that wouldn't work. You're an orphan, and Uzumaki came from your original parents who we haven't found after searching this long," he said, tone a bit softer. Sakura already knew that about Naruto's past, having talked it over with him during his visits to their orphanage.

"If another person suddenly came up and claimed to be another troublesome Uzumaki, it would arouse suspicions immediately."

Naruto looked glum, pouting a bit. "But why Chouji's family?" he whined, not understanding a bit.

"The Akimichi's are wealthy enough to send their son here, but not that known around the world," Neji supplied, in the soft and commanding he had carried ever since childhood. "They are also known for their incredible amount of kindness and caring in ever single family member."

Shikamaru nodded. "Chouji wouldn't mind, plus he's been my best friend for a long time. I know his parents – they'd be happy to let Sakura use their name."

Sakura thanked Shikamaru profoundly in her mind. _Thank god there are now smart people to think for me when I can't in a tense situation…_

"So that means we have to tell Chouji the situation as well?" she asked, turning her head slightly to look down at Shikamaru on her shoulder. He shrugged.

"It's up to you. We can get by with you acting as Yuki for that, or you can just let it out. Chouji's trustworthy. He wouldn't cause any troublesome issues if you shared it with him, or his family."

Sakura nodded, not really paying attention to how Shikamaru's eyes widened a bit when her chin brushed by his cheek lightly.

"Come, Sakura-chan," Neji commanded, making her smirk from his usage of –chan at the end of her name. It clashed quite horribly with his polite speech habits. She remembered how it'd taken forever to get him to call her that…

"Sakura, stop daydreaming," Sasuke said gruffly. He and Neji were both waiting for her at the entrance to her room.

"Where are we going?" she asked, gently nudging Shikamaru off her shoulder and setting him down to sleep on her mess of a bed. Naruto ambled behind her as she walked out and closed the door gently, leaving the genius to his beauty sleep.

Neji took her hand in his, making her give a surprised jump before relaxing. Sasuke struggled to maintain his face of indifference, once again.

_What is UP with me…_ he groaned. _And I want to see what's under that damn mask, already!_

"We'll bring you to Akimichi," he explained, looking at everything but her. "And help so that no one will spot you."

"Yeah, I'll hide you, Sakura-chan! Believe it!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura shook her head good-naturedly, giving a small eye crinckle, and chuckled. "Naruto, you really never change."

"How do you know the dobe, anyway?" Sasuke inquired, curious. _Why does he get to call you Sakura-chan?_

"Eh…let's just say Naruto visits our place a lot," she answered, shrugging. _No point in giving more info than needed._

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Naruto cheered. Sakura inwardly groaned. _Oh shit, he's going to just say everything…_

"I bet you're just jealous, huh, teme? Sakura-chan and I have been friends since we were BABIES!" To be honest, Sakura didn't think Sasuke was jealous at all – his face was one of complete indifference, only showing the occasional twitch of annoyance at Naruto.

Neji didn't respond to any of their banter; he was busy concentrating on the nostalgic feeling he was getting from just holding her hand. Wait, no…he meant listening in on their conversation. Hyuuga Neji did NOT have deep attachments to a girl from more than 10 years ago.

He tugged her towards the door, leaving Sasuke and Naruto behind to another round of pointless arguing. Sakura didn't really mind leaving Naruto behind – he'd probably scream her name out once they were outside by accident anyway.

This time, and she smirked at the memory, she had a few moments to spare so she could put on her own boots. As she reached for them, however, Neji used his free hand to gently tug it away, and directed it towards his flip-flops instead.

"Wear these?" she pointed. _Oh, just take it, Sakura…they're so comfy – you know, after wearing Sasuke's…_

"The flip-flops are more comfortable, and yours are still stuck under a sleeping Shikamaru," he answered. She'd never get used to how his tone had deepened and grown huskier after all these years…

Sakura shrugged. "Alright, sure. You're right though – I wore Sasuke's, and they were really nice and comfy even though it was like 6 sizes way too big." So she stood up and slid her tiny feet into the huge flip-flops.

Neji gave a smile of satisfaction. And then he reflected on what he was doing. A look of horror passed his face, even if only for a second.

_Did I just…give her my flip-flops, as if to best the Uchiha?!_

"Neji…what's up?" Sakura asked, catching the look even though he pushed it down. Her eyes slanted downward a bit, in what he supposed was a frown – the mask hid most of it – and she leaned in close to his face, studying him intently.

Neji almost forgot how to breathe as her face loomed closer and closer.

Note the word almost.

Because he was a Hyuuga, he obviously knew how to handle himself; not mentioning the fact he'd already lost most of his control at the slightest appearance of Sakura. So Neji breathed out slowly, too concentrated on calming himself to notice Sakura stilling as his gentle breath washed over her face and mask.

"Hn," he grunted. "It is nothing. Let us leave for Chouji now." As Sakura pulled away slowly, the refreshing scent of his minty breath lingering in her subconsciousness, she realized he wasn't pulling on any of his shoes.

No, Hyuuga Neji was smirking and slipping on Uchiha Sasuke's slippers that Sakura had been wearing earlier.

His smirk was contagious – soon she found herself smirking and chuckling, right as they both stumbled out into the dark night.

* * *

After a few minutes, Sasuke and Naruto finally noticed they were arguing towards a blank audience. Both glaring at each other as if the other was at fault, they pushed and scrambled to the front door, Naruto leaving first as he got his shoes on faster. He turned around and stuck a tongue out before laughing and running off.

Sasuke was giving a murderous glare at anything he could lay his eyes on, realizing something very important.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY GODDAMNED FLIP-FLOPS **NOW**?!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

_**A/N – **__07.28.08 (treeshie)_

_I finished writing this yesterday, and it was already 4:00 in the morning so I decided to just upload it tomorrow. Except I'm only updating it NOW, which is like the end of tomorrow, because my AUNT just HAD to drag me to EVERY SINGLE FUCKING SHOP in the ENTIRE CITY. Honestly, sometimes I just wish I was born a guy. (I didn't even buy a thing.)_

_Hey – accept that Chouji is cool. He's very cool, because he's Shika's best friend since forever. And he's also really cool because I've recently been rewatching the old Naruto episodes where they chase after the Sound Four/Five and Sasuke…in a barrel. Lulz. So yeah, excuse my need to include Chouji in all this. Maybe I should make him skinny?_

_Sorry about the pairing indecisiveness. I realize that's probably irritating some people… woops. Eh…I've "accidently" been reading some sakuXneji fics. So uh…currently, the pairing is leaning towards Neji. heh-heh?_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed – your reviews are seriously appreciated. An author's soul doesn't get more warm and fuzzy than when a reader tells them they like it. Have a nice day!_


	5. FIVE: Akimichi Yuki!

**DISCLAIMER**: All Naruto-affiliated things do not belong to me. But Neji does. …Fine, he doesn't. Shut up.

_Does anyone else find that the story's somehow going by unbearably slow? And we're still on the first day…in the, like, 13,000__th__ word…_

* * *

_RECAP:_

_**...**__After a few minutes, Sasuke and Naruto finally noticed they were arguing towards a blank audience. Both glaring at each other, they pushed and scrambled to the front door, Naruto leaving first as he got his flip-flops on faster._

_Sasuke was giving a murderous glare at anything he could lay his eyes on, realizing something vaguely important..._

"_WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY GODDAMNED FLIP-FLOPS __**NOW**__?!"__…_

* * *

**AKIMICHI YUKI?!**** :CHAPTER FIVE:**

* * *

"Hmm…" the big man murmured, before grabbing another bag of potato chips having thrown the one he'd just finished aside. "So, let's get this straight…"

Suddenly, his hand stopped reaching into the bag and he opened his eyes to stare intently and intensely at his audience of two.

"You want to become a temporary Akimichi?"

One of the two heads in the shadows of the dark night sky nodded – a slight movement almost impossible to catch. "Yes, I would be extremely honored and grateful if you allowe—"

"Sure, I don't mind," he waved at her while interrupting, returning to munching on his chips and relaxing his eyes into a closed form once again.

Sakura blinked. "That's it?"

Chouji shrugged slightly, saying there was actually just a bit more, and he'd be right back. She turned to stare at Neji, who sat right beside her, as Chouji tottered down the hall crunching chips left and right to get something.

"Is he nice, or does he just not care?" she asked the Hyuuga who didn't seem fazed at all. He shrugged as well.

"He has been like that ever since I was introduced to him in elementary school by Shikamaru – they have been very good acquaintances since childhood, I believe," he explained, using a nonchalant tone.

"Oh," she muttered. _Right. Like that explained a lot. Anyway, I should be happy he's like that, right?_

The sound of heavy footsteps crashed behind them, signaling Chouji's return. He opened the door, to reveal himself actually not eating the half-empty bag of chips in his hand and instead talking into a sleek, green and white cell phone.

"No…Yeah, I'm fine…Dad, no way…Mm…" he continued answering and talking to what Sakura believed were his parents. All she could do was sit there and wait.

"No…NO…Look, there's a girl that needs our help…" Sakura tensed, Neji glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"She needs this chance, alright?...Sakura, it's Sakura…No, she's NOT my girlfriend…horrible, Dad…she's nice…wears a mask like Kakashi-sensei's, I know, right? … I dunno…pink—no, I'm not kidding…"

Sakura was starting to think things weren't that easy after all. _And when did parents get so inquisitive? _She groaned, raising a soft hand to smack her forehead with. Neji managed a small smile that she didn't catch before catching it in the midst of travel.

"Pointless injuries make one weak," he uttered. She stared at him incredulously – he knew, even if her mask was on, if only because he was a damned Hyuuga…to Sakura, of course.

"Talk? Sure…NO, for the LAST TIME…She's NOT "my girl"…what…yeah, yeah…wait a sec…" At this, Chouji shuffled forward to her and immediately resumed his heavy snacking. He stuck the phone out to Sakura, motioning for her to take it.

"It's just my dad, he wants to see if you're…nice," he said, shrugging and sitting down in front of her as soon as she took the phone from his outstretched hand. Sakura sighed. Neji smirked, moving his grip on her other hand's wrist up to gently encompass her cold hand with his own strangely warm one.

She took a deep breathe, calming her nerves before launching into what she hoped was a polite, very "nice" tone.

"Hello, Mr. Akimichi. I'm sorry to bother you so late in the day, and that I would ask of this bothersome request."

Neji snorted at the word "bothersome". One lazy genius tended to annoy him with that word.

"_Oh, no worries…Sakura-chan? …If I heard my son correctly?"_

Sakura nodded, barely catching herself in time to realize there wasn't any way Chouji's dad could have known. She faintly heard Neji sniggering, before kicking him soundly with her foot – the sniggering stopped.

"Yes. If, um, my request is too much to ask for, it's quite alright for you to decline, and…"

"_It's fine, it's fine!" _She could almost imagine him waving his hand just like Chouji. _"I don't see anything wrong with helping you out, as long as you don't end up killing anyone!" _He laughed this jolly, raucous laughter that reminded her of Santa Claus.

And also of someone from her memories as a child. Sakura narrowed her eyes at that.

"I'm really grateful, Mr. Akimichi – you don't know how much this means to me, really. Thank you so much," she gushed, in what she hoped would get him to laugh again so that she could try to pinpoint just where she'd heard it before.

"_Oh, well, you're welcome, dear. Just make sure you try to stay out of trouble – don't want that now, do we? – and also…"_

"Also…?" Chouji stopped eating for a second, fixing the phone Sakura was holding with a horrified stare as if it was a bomb about to explode.

"_Our Chouji is a fine young man, and I'd be glad if you guys should get along __**really**__ well…" _

"DAD!" Chouji groaned, causing his father to laugh uproariously again. Sakura felt that laugh on the tip of her tongue, frustrating her that she wasn't able to remember where it came from. She didn't notice Neji start sniggering again at Mr. Akimichi's implications.

"_Hahaha…well, it would help if you could be friends with our son. Sometimes I worry about him…and it wouldn't hurt to have a woman around to keep things in check, right?" _Sakura chuckled, voicing her agreement. She swore she was sure he had just winked.

"_Well, you'll just pose as Chouji's cousin – my "deceased" brother's daughter – who I have recently taken in because her family died of a…car crash, most unfortunate, yes." _

"That's fine, sir. Thank you so much…oh, and I'm adopting the name Yuki as my first name along with the Akimichi surname. Really," she said earnestly, "thank you **a lot**."

"_That's nothing, haha… I would like to know something about you though, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry – but natural human suspiciousness and curiosity exists in me too."_

"Of course, I understand. Ask, and I'll see if I can provide an answer."

"_I want to know your real surname."_

Sakura stilled and then frowned at that. The question, even though she was used to it, still made her squirm a bit in something close to dissatisfaction.

"It's…well, I'm an orphan and some memories of my past aren't quite remembered. I was found at the age of five, with no memories except for my first name – my caretaker saw fit to hold off the last name until I could make my own decision," she said, looking at anything but Neji's piercing gaze as she rambled it off her tongue.

There was a slight pause on the other side. "_Alright, that's fine. I won't press this any further. You said your name will be Yuki?"_

"Hai," she said, voice betraying the relief of having thrown that topic out the window.

"_Then that's pretty much all that needs to be done, Sak—oops, I mean, Yuki-kun…"_

"Thank you **so** much, Mr. Akimichi, I'm really, really grateful…"

"_That's 'Uncle' to you!" _he laughed. She chuckled as well.

"_Well, then, I'll see you sometime soon – I hope. Enjoy your stay, and make sure to get along well with my son!"_

"I will, Uncle. Thanks so much…goodbye!"

And with that, the phone clicked – signaling the hanging up of both sides.

Sakura let out a breath she'd been holding unconsciously – when had she even taken it?

"I take it everything's alright then," Neji said, not even bothering to put it into question form. _Arrogant bastard…_ Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"Yes, Mr. I-Know-Everything," she said childishly, then ignoring him completely to turn to Chouji instead.

"Hey, Chouji, thanks a lot too," she smiled, though not knowing if he could catch it or not under her mask. He smiled in return, shrugging and snacking.

"It's nothing, like I said. You're Shikamaru's friend, so you're my friend as well," he said easily. Sakura didn't bother correcting him on one part.

_Someone might want to tell me who told him I was Shikamaru's friend, even though we've only known each other for less than a day…?_

"Sakura, we should get heading back. The sky is darkening even more so," Neji commanded. They stood up simultaneously, Sakura waving at Chouji – who waved back – before stopping as if to contemplate something.

"What is it?" Neji asked, watching her curiously. Sakura was a rather weird and spontaneous being, after all.

"Well…I was thinking since it'd be nice to get to know everyone better and all…" she trailed off, feeling a bit guilty for a second. "And we totally ditched Sasuke and Naruto-kun back there…"

At that Neji smirked, recalling the talented use of his amazing physical prowess…

"_It was quiet while it lasted," Sakura sighed, eyeing the approaching storm clouds that signaled the arrival of Naruto and Sasuke. _

_She and Neji had been walking in comfortable and peaceful silence – still hand in hand – since ditching the two arguing boys back at the dorm. And after Neji stole Sasuke's flip-flops…_

_She'd cracked up when Sasuke's roar reached her ears._

"_TEMEEEE," screamed Naruto, lagging behind Sasuke by a bit even though he had a head start._

"_DOBE, YOU CAN'T BEAT ME," Sasuke yelled back, a smirk growing on his face as they raced to catch up to Sakura and Neji._

_His smirk grew wider once they came into view, and being determined not to lose to Naruto TWICE in one day, he speeded up and got to them first._

_Huffing and panting at having run so fast and so far, he leaned his head on one of Sakura's shoulders comfortably, reveling in how her neck held him perfectly._

_Neji coughed. He was still holding Sakura's hand._

"_Sakura, come here for a second," he muttered, motioning her closer with a finger. Curious, she gently nudged Sasuke off (He grumbled at that) and leaned in to listen to what Neji was whispering._

_Within seconds, two conniving grins had twisted their way onto both faces as they cackled with glee inside._

_Sasuke was too busy narrowing his eyes and looking for the dobe – who somehow disappeared._

"_Hey, Sasuke…" Sakura sidled up to him, letting go of Neji's hand to have it slide gently down Sasuke's arm instead. He stiffened a bit._

"_Oh, look – there's Naruto-kun!" she grinned, pointing into the distance. He almost groaned and struggled to contain his anger at Naruto for probably ruining something nice AGAIN._

_Neji, as much as seeing Sakura sort of hitting on someone was discomforting, took his turn in stride, and poked Sasuke on the shoulder._

"_What?" Sasuke growled, annoyed at the entire world…except maybe Sakura._

"_I thought it would be a nice…challenge…to finally prove who's better by racing and seeing who can tackle Naruto first," he said smoothly, willing his face to remain stoic with practiced ease._

_Sasuke looked taken aback at first, but smirked quickly. "Heh, you're on, Hyuuga."_

_Sakura counted down from three, dropping her raised hand at the end of "one" and trying not to laugh outrageously as they both raced off._

_Confident in his ability to pull out this plan, Neji – not surprised he had to struggle against beating the Uchiha – finally pulled ahead by a bit as they reached a sprinting Naruto._

_Sasuke growled and upped his pace, but Neji had already gained the lead. So Sasuke did the only thing he could do – he lunged for Naruto._

_Neji was practically screaming glee off his body, and he didn't bother stopping Sasuke, even if he knew Sasuke would beat him like that. Instead, because he was close enough, he lunged for Naruto on the other side, effectively slamming Naruto and Sasuke together._

_They both moaned and clutched their spinning heads, dropping onto their knees._

_As Neji sauntered with glory back to Sakura, they ran off laughing and then finally cracking up once showing at Chouji's doorstep._

"_What the hell…is that Hyuuga I see laughing?" asked Chouji, who'd just opened his front door._

Sakura bit her lip to hold back bubbling laughter.

"Putting aside I have no idea where the hell they are now, I was thinking it'd be nice to have a sort of…sleepover?" She suggested, tilting her head in question.

Neji shrugged, while Chouji looked thoughtful.

"It is as much your dorm as it is mine, so if you want one, then I see no problem with it," Neji said.

Chouji shrugged, reaching for more chips. "Sure, why not? I haven't seen Shikamaru in a while either."

As an afterthought, he added, "Oh, and we can think about your issue together too. We have to make sure you can pass as a guy…"

Sakura gulped. That was one thing she wasn't looking forward to…mainly because of her hair.

* * *

"Whatever you're about to say, I'm **not** going to cut my hair – end of story," she muttered mutinously, glaring at Shikamaru who had his mouth open about to talk.

He sighed.

"Women are so troublesome…"

"Good," she huffed, "That way you might learn something eventually."

They were all sitting or lying down in the living room – Sasuke and Neji lounging on the couches, Naruto already conked out on the floor where Neji dumped him nearby, Shikamaru sitting in his thinking position on the plush carpet with Chouji right next to him munching away, Sakura herself having grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around herself as she sat nearby Neji on the couch.

Once she'd gotten back and laughed all she wanted at Sasuke and Naruto – who were bright red and looking furious at each other – Shikamaru had realized, upon sigh of Chouji tagging with them, that they were probably in for a long night.

And because Sakura didn't know anyone well yet, he'd asked her personally if she could just trust another person with her secret – one that deserved to know, because she'd actually kicked him out of the little top four group.

Of course she said yes – how could she say no when feeling so guilty?

So Aburame Shino was now also sitting idly on the table, hands in his pockets and face covered by sunglasses. Sakura didn't find it queer at all for him to hide his face under the collar of his coat or the fact he wore sunglasses indoors at night. After all, who was she to talk when she herself was wearing a face mask?

"Well, fine then. Just…we need to obviously get that pink color out," Shikamaru muttered, sighing deeply and running his fingers through his now let-down hair. Sakura had tugged his ponytail out, irritated at how it was so spiky. But his hair had been surprisingly soft to touch, and once you let it out, there wasn't a pulled-back line at the forehead like always. There were almost bang-like hair wisps floating there – like Naruto's.

"I have hair dye at home, Sakura-san," Shino said softly, surprising her with his gentle, deep tone. He hadn't said much during the night, only opting to watch her a bit curiously.

They were all relaxing, already dressed in pajamas. Which, for the men (except for Chouji), consisted of only thin undershirts and boxers. Sakura swore she was going to go crazy soon at the many times she caught herself staring at rippling muscles. …Except for Chouji. He was a relief for her over-exposed eyes, seriously.

Unbeknownst to her, the men were having similar reactions. Of course they would… After all, she was sitting on the couch, with her knees pulled to her chin, revealing the vast expanse of creamy skin on her legs from her ever-so-convenient red short-shorts and the little black tank top that still held her mask in place.

_That goddamned mask. _Sasuke then realized he was getting really ticked off at an inanimate piece of cloth. He mentally punched himself…hard.

"That'd be a great help, Shino. Oh…and just drop the formalities – you can call me Sakura if you'd like," she offered, giving him a nod and a tiny smile Shino barely recognized. The only way to really know if she was grinning was from the small crinkling of her eyes…just like Kakashi.

"You know, I've really been wondering, but are you SURE you're not related to Kakashi?" Chouji asked bluntly, setting his chips aside and leaning in eagerly for her answer.

Sakura stared. Then she remembered how Kakashi had the same mask as her. And then she put up a finger to think, shutting her eyes in concentration. All the boys widened their eyes, and leaned in to hear…

"No, I'm not sure at all," she shrugged, finally opening her eyes and not knowing why the boys seemed to have fallen in their seats.

"Well, great, more troublesome mask-wearing, odd-shade-of-hair-color-holding people," Shikamaru drawled, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, in defense, there are people here who've seen me with my mask off. And I only wore it when coming to the school," she finished muttering, crossing her arms indignantly.

Neji wondered if she was as adorable as he remembered.

Sasuke frowned. "Wait, who's seen your face here?"

Sakura uncrossed her arms and stuck both her thumbs towards two different directions behind her – one landed on Neji, and the other on the snoring and drooling Naruto on the floor.

"_Naruto's_ seen your face?!" Chouji blanched.

"Well, yeah. We've known each other for a pretty long time. I see him a lot…actually, we just saw each other a week ago, I think."

Some of them hadn't known **that** surprising piece of info.

"Oh, and I've said this before to Sasuke and Shikamaru, but I've known Neji for a long time too. But that was waaay long ago, and I doubt he can still remember my 6-year-old face," she smirked wryly.

Neji let himself give a small smirk as well. _You are wrong, for once, Sakura._

"Interesting," Shino murmured, eyes lighting up as they trailed a small fruit fly landing on top of Sakura's head.

"You mean the bug flying on top of my head?" She asked incredulously. Sakura had no problems with bugs – except maybe some with really big cockroaches. But fruit flies were just downright cute…when you compare them to those huge, disgustingly big cockroaches.

_Sheesh, Sakura, just stop the denial and acknowledge you're deathly afraid of cockroaches, _she muttered.

"Don't even start," Sasuke interrupted, holding up a hand for silence when Shino started looking excited. "If you start him on bugs, he'll never finish talking 'til we're long gone and dead."

"Oh…uh…that's nice," she offered lamely.

"Can we just get back to the trouble on hand?" Shikamaru sighed, running his hands through his hair again. "What a drag…"

"Woops…sorry, Shikamaru!" She grinned apologetically, crawling over to his side and starting to absentmindedly play with his brown hair. Shikamaru leaned into her touch slightly, a lazy ghost of a smirk flitting over his features at Sasuke's fist clenching in the background.

"Anyway, what kind of color do you think my hair should be?" she asked everyone. Shikamaru said nothing – only calming in the way her fingers gently soothed the tangles out of his messy hair.

"Something a bit more…normal, perhaps," Neji smirked. Sakura stared.

"Alright, you smartass…putting aside the fact that I **think** this pompous Hyuuga just made a joke – and about MY HAIR no less – who doesn't agree with Neji-who-made-a-bad-joke here?" she huffed. He looked miffed at the joke comments, and the smartass – pompous thing.

"Actually, I was thinking of a rather different color," Sasuke admitted.

Sakura shrugged, swatting her free hand. "Go ahead, say it. Unless you attempt to crack a really bad joke about my hair – which I might kill Neji later for in implying my hair color's weird, so don't do it – then we won't laugh at you…much."

They all laughed, except for Neji. He just turned his head away from the conversation, disgruntled.

"Well…" Sasuke muttered. "I was thinking that since your name's Yuki, you might as well just go with the whole package and give yourself white hair…"

Awkward silence.

Sasuke now looked pissed. "Look, I'm just saying a random idea, you could at **least** respond, it doesn't even MATTER if you don't WANT to use it because it's not like it actu—"

"Whoa there, Sasuke. Back up. I never said I didn't like it," Sakura interrupted, holding out her hands. Shikamaru tsked at the loss of it in his hair.

"In fact…I think I love it," she finished, smiling with an extra-cheerful eye crinkle. Sasuke grinned, and the caught himself fast – surely the great Uchiha did not just grin from appraisal like he had long ago with his older brother? Just by some praises?

"So, Shino…got any white dye?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"Then that's settled. I don't have to cut my hair too, do I?" she asked Shikamaru anxiously. He shook his head. He'd considered it before, but Neji had long hair, so why not?

"I think you have to wear it differently though, especially because of your bangs," he added at her sigh of relief. She frowned.

"Well, I didn't want to cut it because…uh…reasons. But wearing it differently…anything's fine, really," she said.

"I'd suggest Hyuuga's girly hairstyle, but you might continuously try to crack bad jokes if you wore it that way," Sasuke drawled, smirking and looking at a pissed off Neji through the corner of his eyes.

"Sakura-_chan_," Neji retaliated, making sure to emphasis the 'chan' and turning to observe Sasuke, "I think it would be best to just let it down like me – you surely wouldn't want a chicken's posterior for the back of your head."

Everyone in the room cracked up, including Sakura.

Her inner personality sat glumly on the floor in her mind. _I guess plan "Don't let anyone close" just totally failed like that time we tried to make Jiraiya stop being perverted…_

"Whatever, I'll let it down and get rid of my bangs by using a headband like Neji-kun's."

Chouji grunted. "If you're going to have white hair while wearing that mask, why didn't we just ask Kakashi-sensei for his last name?"

Shikamaru stopped mid-yawn, narrowing his eyes.

"Hey…you're right. Why didn't I think of that?"

Awkward silence ensued.

As soon as they all got over the shock, they started laughing uproariously at a sheepish Shikamaru, who was creeping nearer and nearer to Sakura in order to hide.

"C'mon, the person who's got my troublesome first chair is here, and I don't see **her** thinking of it either," he protested.

Sakura laughed, patting his head gently. "I'm not laughing at you, at least. Can't say the same for the rest of these girls here…" She smirked as Neji and Sasuke threw pillows at her in synchronization.

"Anyway, before we start a pillow fight, Shino – I need to ask you to go get your dye," she interrupted, still holding up a pillow for protection. He nodded, grabbing a jacket with another overlaying high collar and sweeping out the door.

"Shikamaru…you need to brief me on…stuff," she muttered, raising an eyebrow while looking the men over. "Including how I'll somehow have to procure a load of men's clothes."

"I can do that," Sasuke shrugged, smug that he'd voiced it out before an annoyed Neji could. Sakura flashed him a small eye-crinkle.

"Alright thanks, Sasuke. Neji-kun, give me one of your awesome headband things…" she motioned to the white band running a circle around his head with a grin. **(A/N: Neji looks hotter. His hair is different. THe band is farther back and at a 45 degree angle from portrait view, so some of his hair hangs in front of his face over the band. It's...hot.)  
**

"I'll get you a black one," he agreed.

"And, this is awkward…but could one of you go to the nurse for me?" She asked hesitantly. "Uh…to ask her for several…rolls of bandages."

Sasuke blushed and looked away.

"Yeah, I would definitely need those…" she continued.

"I'll get them," Chouji volunteered. "Iruka-sensei sees me all the time for stomach problems, we're on good terms. And he won't ask questions either as long as you promise it's not causing trouble."

"Then that's great!" Sakura exclaimed tiredly. "We're pretty much done…"

The clock read out 2:50 A.M.

"Shikamaru, hurry and feed me with info on you manly girls before Shino gets back so then we can all go sleep earlier. I'm tired," she yawned.

There was a whole new chapter opening in her life…

_And I won't be facing it alone…not anymore,_ she sighed contentedly.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

_A/N: 08.16.08 (treeshie) (um…big delay, yeah.)_

_I'm really homesick now. But Shanghai and Hangzhou are pretty fun…at least, they would be if it wasn't so DAMN HOTTT… Grr. And there's no internet here, so when I'm typing this you'll actually see it a few days later. Time delay!_

_Sorry. I haven't updated in roughly a month, I think. I really have issues with attention spans. And you know…watching the Olympics 24/7! (PHEEELPS YOU GO MAN, ALL EIGHT! And GUO JINGJING. Woman, you are getting old and not relinquishing any gold medals one bit…Ouch.)_

_Ah. Total domination of the diving court. Too bad I didn't get to see any of it…those tickets were hell to get. Anyway, the Olympic Green was cool. That was somehow part of my inspiration in starting to write again – I have no idea how that worked._

_I hope you think this chapter's okay – it's still SO SLOW! I don't know what I'm doing, really. I'm just going along with what my fingers type out, and half the time I'm unconscious or sleeping. …Really._

_Reviews messages of love, yeah. Of course, if you don't send one, I still love you for reading! (…just maybe not __**as**__ much…jk!) Thanks for reading, reviewing, or whatever it is that has to do with lil' old me._

_Have a nice day!_


	6. SIX: One More Man

DISCLAIMER: All Naruto-affiliated things/characters do not belong to me. But I really lust for Neji. Please?_

* * *

_

_RECAP:_

…"_Shikamaru, hurry and feed me with info on you manly girls before Shino gets back so then we can all go sleep earlier. I'm tired," she yawned._

_There was a whole new chapter opening in her life…_

And I won't be facing it alone…not anymore_, she sighed contentedly.

* * *

_

**ONE MORE MAN** ::**CHAPTER SIX**::

* * *

"Hey, you said we were finally getting a transfer student this year!"

The accused girl shrugged with a smug expression, shiny purple nails flashing as she examined them in the sunlight. Her long golden blonde hair streamed smoothly down her curved back, accenting and flaunting her obvious model body even more.

"Stop looking at your ugly nails and just say something," Temari scoffed. Ino frowned, then sneered and pointed an 'ugly' nail right at her.

"I wouldn't be saying anything…your hair style is worse than Shika-kun's, of all people!"

"**Shika-kun**?!"

"Yes, Shika-kun. We've recently become _very_ good friends, haven't we, Hinata?" Ino mock-laughed.

"U-um…" The gentle, bluish-black haired Hyuuga blushed and stared down at the marble pavement. "Sh-she's just k-k-kidding, T-temari-chan…"

"And you're stuttering again! C'mon, Hinata, we all know Ino and Temari are going to fight over Shikamaru 'til the world stops spinning," exclaimed Tenten, who'd only wanted to know about the transfer student from the very beginning.

"**Why would I fight over him?**" both horrified blondes screeched at the same time. Tenten just sighed, shaking her usual two chocolate buns side to side.

"Yeah, yeah…so Ino, want to tell me the deal over this supposed "new girl" yet?"

Ino flipped her hair over her shoulder, waving flirtatiously at a group of drooling freshmen. She turned back around with a rare serious face.

"Actually, I only know this because I accidentally completely overheard a whole conversation the other day about that…girl."

They all leaned in close as she started to whisper.

"The Principal said something like 'she isn't who she thinks she is' and, like, other mysterious crap I don't understand. He talked the _entire_ time using the words "she" and "her" without mentioning a name at all…"

Ino paused dramatically.

"But **this morning**, he was briefing the teachers over about the new student…and not _only_ did he say the student _skipped_ school yesterday…_he said it was a_ **guy**."

Hinata gasped softly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" said Temari. Tenten, with a confused look on her face, started looking even more excited with each passing second.

"Yes, this is **exactly **the kind of drama we need!" she shouted, pumping her fist in the air. Hinata hurriedly shushed her and looked around meekly at the stares they received.

"Nice going there, Tenten. But you're right," Ino grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief, "and since this multi-gender person will finally be at school today, we have to make sure to be in the middle of it all."

They laughed together, Hinata's shyness replaced with a stunning vivacity only her best friends could bring out.

* * *

Not remembering her previous words at all, Ino now stood near the edge of the courtyard, frustrated at a standstill in making her decision.

The boy was hardly approachable material.

He was scaring half the population off with his chilling emerald eyes and iced aura while attracting the rest with it. The luscious white locks of his flowed in the wind beneath a thick black headband on top his head and made Ino think of Kakashi-sensei when she saw his black face mask as well.

_To approach or not to approach, that is the question,_ she thought seriously.

It didn't help that he was standing right in between the most fangirl-ed ever guys in the school; surrounding him like bodyguards, it went from Naruto, to Shikamaru, to Neji, to a pissed Sasuke that was killing even seniors with his glare, and finally to a puffed up Chouji looking oddly proud in the back.

That was most…unusual. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji actually went pretty far back – she never told Temari this because the girl really was in love with him, whether she knew it or not. Ino knew love when she saw it…and she also knew Chouji.

In Ino logic, if you were Chouji, being proud and showing off…was like a girl stating Uchiha Sasuke was ugly. It never happened. …Ever.

Ino logic never failed.

A chattering bunch of the most horrid type of extreme fangirls (She would never subject herself to acting like _those _pieces of trash) giggled a few feet away from her, pointing and whispering at the new boy.

Her eyes narrowed. _Boy, or girl?_

The face mask covered any telltale signs of masculinity, and long eyelashes with pretty eyes could hardly count it to be a girl. Ino obviously at least knew that much, after having gone to school with a certain Hyuuga everyday.

The long hair wasn't any help either. Except, wait…

Ino walked forwards, not realizing she had stepped out of the crowds quite a bit.

If she looked closer, at the end of his/her wide headband were tiny fringes of white hair, as if the boy was trying to hide some…bangs, of sorts.

Some very _non-masculine_ side-sweeping bangs she'd actually seen on that new issue of Sixteen magazine last night…

"Ino? Why are you all the way out here?" drawled Shikamaru, raising an eyebrow at her place fifteen feet away from the gossiping crowds and only three from their little group.

She suddenly snapped back to life and realized just what a stupid, typical dumb blonde act she'd just pulled off.

"Ehe-he…" Ino straightened and awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair, noticing especially how the mysterious boy/girl was looking at her with a completely uninterested expression. "I…tripped?"

* * *

"Ehe-he… I…tripped?"

The girl was drop-dead gorgeous. Sakura was almost even jealous for a second, but then felt glad it wasn't her that was gifted with such a nice rack and extra curvy body.

That would have been hard to hide if she was going to pose as a guy.

_Sakura tugged nervously at the edge of her sleeve, uncomfortable with the thought that the clothes strangely felt really fitting on her._

"_So…how do I look?"_

_Shikamaru and Shino looked up sleepily from their early morning game of shogi, both still temporarily blind and stoned from lack of coffee. They mumbled some responses, a "nice" and "good" caught somewhere in between, before returning blearily back to their game and wondering who's turn was next._

"_Thanks, really," Sakura muttered, eyebrows raised. "You guys need your coffee, don't you?"_

"_It'll work," Sasuke grunted from behind her. He absentmindedly reached out and ruffled her now bright white strands of hair, his own bed-head style matching hers as her made it disheveled._

_Naruto chose at that moment to leap in through the open window, grin blinding the entire room._

"_Yeah, because there's not much to hide anyway, believe it!"_

Needless to say, Naruto had been subject to three different death glares, four stoned/semi-amused expressions, and an extra bonus tackle from Sasuke as well.

The girl in front of her now was definitely not someone Naruto would ever say that to.

"Just admit it, you screeching banshee," Naruto crowed in good nature, looking like he was about to eagerly show something off. "You just came over to look at our precious Sak—"

"—who might you be?" Sakura interrupted while stepping on Naruto's foot, stifling her amusement when Shikamaru also stepped on his foot. She tried to set her eyes into what she had practiced to be a more…_masculine_ look, as Ino gave her a subtle "up-down".

Neji smirked on the sidelines, stopping abruptly when a fangirl sigh swooped over the crowds on their sides. Sasuke sniggered at that, but he'd made the same mistake and immediately stopped once he had his own fangirls swooning.

"Akimichi Yuki," Sakura said smoothly in her new tenor voice, holding out a hand for the blonde-haired beauty. Ino was busy scrutinizing Sakura, even though she tried to make it non-obvious. Sakura had experience with these things.

And then Ino finally realized what she'd been trying to figure out.

There was definitely some secret surrounding the new student.

Contrary to popular belief, Ino wasn't just a dumb blonde. For one thing, she hadn't been longtime childhood friends with Shikamaru and Chouji only to know nothing of their lives. And she knew that Chouji most definitely had never said anything about a relative named Yuki.

Grinning seductively, because whenever she tried it sweetly it turned out seductive anyway, she slid her hand smoothly into his.

But before she could react – which was saying a lot, because Ino was famous for her always-in-control boy charms – Akimichi Yuki and taken her hand and raised it to his lips for a gentle kiss on the knuckles.

Boy-crazy was the right word to describe Yamanaka Ino with. She only settled for the top ring of high-class, beautiful men. Beguiling those men into following her like pathetic, drooling, puppy dogs was almost nothing to her.

Yet, this mysterious, handsome Akimichi Yuki had just succeeded in making her blush.

* * *

Shikamaru knew something was wrong the minute Ino tripped right into their protective circle.

For the second time in his life, Shikamaru had overlooked something.

_All in one week, too…_

He groaned internally, blaming the escalating trouble in his life on Sakura. He'd forgotten one most important fact…

Yamanaka Ino was not stupid.

In the middle of fifth grade, Ino had been dumped by her first boyfriend – a prick, of course, but he'd been a handsome prick, she'd argued. At that time, Ino didn't have any girl friends. All the girls either hated her or just didn't like her, something which she swore didn't get to her even if Shikamaru knew she'd cried about it every now and then.

And because Shikamaru had always been the top genius ever since entering the Institute chain of schools, he'd made a startling observation after hanging out with her, and proved it that day she was dumped by her first prick of a boyfriend.

Yamanaka Ino was not stupid. Rather…she was incredibly intelligent.

When he put his mind to it, Shikamaru could figure out things no one else could, not even the top scientists of the world. And when he put his mind to it, Shikamaru could also be a really good friend.

On a subconscious level, Ino could solve almost any problem you dealt her with – but that would only occur if you could somehow knock out her outer consciousness and bring out the one under it. She had two layers in her mind, which Shikamaru figured was created for protection from emotions she didn't want to deal with; the bottom one that rarely surfaced was almost a genius.

Whenever Ino was depressed, her inner consciousness would appear. And on that day in fifth grade, while taking their mathematics finals, she was very, very depressed.

Shikamaru was a good friend. He realized that she'd taken the test like that, so she'd get something close to a full score, and that would completely throw everyone off once they saw it on the result charts.

Ino had always received slightly lower than average grades, and she'd adamantly said one day to their trio of three that she would never want it any other way. Her image, she'd said, didn't have room for people to realize her 'secret intelligence'. He never knew if she was aware of her inner genius, or if she was just being her same pretentious self.

What he did know, though, was that Ino would never want people to look at her that way. She wanted everyone to love her for who she loved to be and not to end up like Shikamaru, who was often only revered for his test scores and brilliant equations.

So in fifth grade, Shikamaru rounded up the help of an excited Naruto, and did his first illegal act.

Hacking into the security system was nothing. But he himself had no skills in being swift and silent enough to steal the actual test Ino had taken itself from the teacher's vault. And though Naruto was clumsy, loud, and never appeared to be smart, he'd also seen underneath that.

Somehow, Naruto was a master at stealing things.

Shikamaru didn't delve into it – it wasn't his business, and he was glad enough that Naruto had bothered to help him. They stole Ino's test, burned it, and solved the problem.

To this day, Ino still didn't know it was him that had caused her to retake the test and receive the lowest score in their class. And she still didn't know that every other case of this happening was always because of Shikamaru and his surprisingly still secret alliance with Naruto, who was definitely not known for keeping a secret so long.

But whatever the case was, he'd allowed a mistake that could prove to be fatal, just because he'd been wrapped up in the excitement Sakura had brought with her arrival.

Sasuke stepped into Shikamaru's view, startling him.

"Don't worry about it," he murmured, eyes lazily following Sakura's polite introduction.

Shikamaru watched.

"Akimichi Yuki," he heard Sakura say. Her voice-changing was perfect, though she wouldn't tell them how she'd gained that skill when she demonstrated it like it was nothing the previous night.

Then Sakura kissed her hand, and Ino blushed, and a wave of relief rushed through him.

A blushing Ino meant her intelligence level dropped deep. Natural woman instincts were higher in power than intelligence in Ino's mind. Whenever she encountered some "hot" material, as she would put it, Ino's mind almost completely shut down – the only part left running was her womanly instincts.

"It's so nice to meet you! I'm Yamanaka Ino!" she gushed, her signature seductress grin slowly forming. Her hand even dared to linger a bit in Sakura's after the light kiss was over with.

"Yamanaka-san, was it?" Sakura repeated quietly, pronouncing each syllable as if they were nostalgic. Shikamaru caught a glimpse of a slight frown beneath her mask.

Ino pouted. "Well, yeah, but you can just call me—"

"Can we just ignore her and get to class?" Naruto scowled. "Ino's one annoying bitch…"

Sakura stood there, thinking heavily. She sighed and unhappily decided that _that_ was the best approach.

Ino glared at Naruto, prepared with a witty remark to throw back at him, but someone beat her to it. In an opposite way.

"Now that I know you're a bitch, Yamanaka-san, kindly let us go on our way," the new boy, Yuki, smiled, his eyes crinkling.

And Ino could do nothing but stand there in shock and embarrassment as the entire group walked off – Shikamaru and Chouji included, without even a look back.

The boy was no cute thing. He had an even sharper attitude than the Uchiha.

Mind whirring back into action, Ino pulled out her cell and texted one message to the entire B Class.

_AKIMICHI YUKI WILL NOT BE TOUCHED BY ANYONE YET._

She grinned.

Revenge was sweet…and hers and hers alone.

...TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

_**A/N:**__ 12.03.08 – (treeshie)_

_Hiya. … Well, it's sure been a while. _

_Recently, everything I write has been getting more and more "fangirlish" and really AU and OC-ish and I DON'T KNOW but I wasn't aiming for this light-hearted comedic high school life I'm getting. HATE. CATFIGHTS._

_I seem to have this penchant for writing things that I rather dislike yet appeal to other masses. (cough, little sis, cough) And I'm currently hating school life… I ended up in the school I didn't want to go to and fought tooth and nail to avoid. But now I'm here and it's not helping my grades a single bit. Yes, I must whine on fanfiction because I really have no life._

_Yay, to those of you who review. I love you all. :]_

_And for those who actually read Love Paradox before and are currently reading this newest chapter – No mere words can express my gratification, admiration, and adoration for your continuation with my story._

_Hope you all have a wonderful day._


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